Division  DS809 

Section 

V . 2 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/japanherpeople02hart_0 


JAPAN 


AND  HER  PEOPLE 

ANNA  C.  HARTSHORNE 


ILLUSTRATED 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES 
VOL.  II 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  PRESS 

THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  CO. 


PHILADELPHIA 


Copyright, 

HENRY  T.  COATES  & CO. 
1902. 


CONTENTS 


VOLUME  II 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

The  Ainu  Aborigines, 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

Miyanoshita, 31 

CHAPTER  III. 

Hakone  and  Atami, 48 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Tokaido, 64 

CHAPTER  V. 

Mount  Fuji, 90 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Nagoya 105 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Gifu, 121 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Shrinks  of  Ise, 130 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Kyoto— The  Palaces, 154 

iii 


IV 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  X. 

PAGE 

Kyoto— The  Temples, 187 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Lake  Biwa  and  Abashiyama 214 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Theatre, 229 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Fetes  and  Flowers, 247 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Kara, 281 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Osaka, 292 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Kobe, 300 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Miyajima  and  the  Inland  Sea, 309 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Nagasaki 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Kagoshima, 332 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Formosa, 

Index, 261 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

VOLUME  II 


Photogravures  made  by  Gilbo  & Co. 


Pagoda,  Osaka,  .... 

PAGE 

Frontispiece, 

Ainu  Aborigines, 

4 

Ainu  Poling  Boat,  . 

. 20 

Children  Carrying  Babies,  . 

. 36 

Kago  (Traveling  Chair), 

. 50 

Hakone 

. 60 

Rice  Planting,  .... 

. 70 

Peasants, 

. 80 

Mount  Fujiyami, 

. 96 

Nagoya  Castle, 

. 108 

Lantern  Makers, 

. 122 

Nijo  Palace,  Kyoto, 

. 158 

Tea  Picking 

. 176 

Sorting  Tea,  .... 

• 

. 186 

Nishi  Hongwanji,  . 

• 

. 190 

V 


vi  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Winding  Silk  from  Cocoons, 200 

Bamboo  Grove, 214 

Boys’  Festival, 252 

Pagoda,  Nara, 282 

Girl  Painting, 288 

Osaka  Castle, 296 

SlIIMONOSEKI, 310 

Nagasaki  Harbor, 320 

Native  Boats  in  Nagasaki  Harbor, 330 

Japanese  Junk, 342 


JAPAN  AND  HER  PEOPLE. 


CH.iPTER  I. 

THE  AIXU  ABORIGINES. 

Professor  Chamberlain,  writing  of  Ainu  folk 
lore,  gave  three  good  reasons  for  which  this  strange 
people  is  worthy  of  being  studied — “ because  its  do- 
main once  extended  over  the  entire  Japanese  archi- 
pelago, becau.se  ab.solutely  nothing  is  known  of  its 
origin  and  affinitie.s,  and  because  it  i.s,  so  to  speak, 
almost  at  its  last  gasp.” 

This  last  proposition,  at  least,  is  evident  to  any  one 
Avho  goes  to  the  Hokkaido.  Years  ago,  when  Miss 
Pil’d  followed  her  “ Unbeaten  Tracks”  into  the  north, 
tliere  were  still  j>lcnty  of  Ainu  not  far  from  Hakodate, 
at  Mori,  on  the  south  shore  of  Volcano  bay,  and  else- 
where in  .southern  Yezo ; but  as  the  Japanese  have 
come,  the  Ainu  have  gone,  always  northward — where 
else,  indeed,  could  they  go?  — clustering,  some  of 
them,  in  .srpialid  villages  on  the  upper  .shore  of  Vol- 
cano bay,  but  mostly  along  the  remote  coasts  and  up 
the  rivers,  in  out-of-the-way  places,  where  they 
VOL.  II.— 1 


can 


2 


JAPAN. 


still  hunt  and  fish.  Some  there  are  even  in  the  dreary 
Kurile  islands,  though,  according  to  Romyn  Hitch- 
cock, these  are  another  people,  akin  to  the  Mongolian 
pit-dweller’s  of  Saghalien. 

Mr.  Batchelor,  first  and  special  missionary  to  the 
Ainu,  has  collected  many  curious  animal  tales  and 
bits  of  folk  lore,  some  of  them  as  unlike  Japanese 
folk  stories  as  possible,  while  others  are  attributed  to 
Chinese  and  Japanese  influences.  The  ethnologi.sts, 
too,  have  been  busy  among  them — the  German 
Scheube  in  1882;  Hitchcock,  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institute,  ten  years  later ; Profe.ssor  Milne,  Professor 
Chanrberlain,  and  lately  Mi’s.  Todd,  who  took  a col- 
lection of  clothing  and  utensils  to  Professor  Morse,  at 
the  Peabody  ^luseuin,  in  Salem ; while  Captain 
James,  of  the  “Coronet,”  arranged  for  a collection 
for  the  national  museum  in  Xew  York.  Probably 
the  Sapporo  Historical  Society  does  as  much  or  more 
in  collecting  material  than  the  rest  of  the  agencies  put 
together ; but  as  few  of  the  members  publish  out  of 
their  own  tongue,  it  will  be  long  before  their  researches 
get  befoi’e  the  world  at  large. 

Certainly  the  hairy  Ainu  should  be  the  joy  of  all 
who  delight  in  ethnological  puzzles,  for,  as  I’rofessor 
C'hamberlain  says,  nolx)dy  knows  anything  of  their 
t)i’igin,  and  so  far  nobodv  can  find  out.  Phvsic- 
ally  and  in  every  way  they  are  totally  distinct  from 
the  Ja])anese ; they  are  nearly  the  same  height,  but 
more  chunky  and  thick-.set,  with  straight  eyes  and 


THE  AINU  ABORIGINES. 


3 


level  eyebrows — not  arched  and  far  above  the  eyes, 
like  the  brows  of  a Japanese — and  above  all,  heavily 
bearded,  while  the  other  race  is  notably  smooth-faced. 
The  Ainu  are  as  dirty  as  their  conquerors  are  clean, 
as  slow-witted  as  these  are  quick ; the  two  races  seem 
to  be  alike  only  in  having  high  cheek-bones,  dark 
eyes  and  inky-l)lack  hair.  Beards  indeed  are  so 
necessary  to  the  happiness  of  an  Ainu  that,  since 
nature  has  neglected  the  women  in  this  respect,  they 
are  allowed  to  tattoo  themselves  fine  blue-black  mous- 
taches. The  process  is  begun  in  childhood  and  carried 
on  year  by  year,  so  that  by  the  time  a girl  is  ‘‘out,” 
so  to  speak,  she  has  a magnificent  curve  across  each 
cheek  almost  to  her  ear,  and  a pair  of  marks  also  on 
her  forehead.  Modern  Japanese  law  forbids  the  practice, 
but  it  is  still  done  in  all  the  more  out-of-the-way  places. 

Tlie  long  beards  and  general  cast  of  features  of  the 
Ainu  are  so  strikingly  like  Russian  peasants  that  the 
comparison  has  been  made  very  often,  but  so  far  no 
racial  affinity  has  been  proved ; certainly  not  the  least 
trace  of  Aryan  descent  can  be  claimed  for  them,  how- 
ever much  one  of  these  dignified  old  chiefs  may  look 
like  a kilted  Scotch  Highlander.  The  venerable 
beards  give  their  mild  countenances  an  air  of  great 
dignity  and  even  refinement,  as  is  esjtecially  noticeable 
in  their  ])hotogra])hs — this,  perhaps,  because  one  can 
study  them  more  judicially  when  imdistracted  bv  the 
ajipcal  to  the  olfactory  nerves,  which  is  generally 
made  by  the  living  subject. 


4 


JAPAN. 


Not  all  of  them  are  aetually  hairy  all  over,  though, 
indeed,  Henry  Savage  Landor  insists  that  around  the 
north  coast  and  in  other  wild  places  they  are  univers- 
ally so,  and  argues  that  those  who  are  not  hair}'  have 
an  intermixture  of  Japanese  blood.  There  used  to  be  a 
theory  that  the  children  of  Japanese  and  Ainu  were 
not  healthy,  and  that  the  mixed  race  soon  died  off ; 
but  of  this  there  seems  to  be  no  definite  proof  and 
little  probability.  A curious  physical  trait  is  that  the 
Ainu  skeleton  has  the  bones  of  the  forearm  and  leg 
noticeably  flattened. 

Language  is  not  much  help  as  to  their  origin,  even 
if  the  modern  ethnologists  would  allow  that  it  ever 
proved  anything  in  any  case.  In  general  structure 
Ainu  is  rather  like  Japanese,  but  Professor  Chamber- 
lain  says  the  resemblances  are  less  than  the  differ- 
ences. Naturally  very  many  words  have  been  adopted 
from  the  Japanese,  with  or  without  modification  ; for 
instance,  Kamui  (a  divine  being),  Japanese  Kami; 
mai-dare  (an  apron — literally,  a “hang-before”), 
which  is  Japanese,  pure  and  simple;  pi-shahu  (a  bark 
dii)pcr),  in  which  last  case  both  word  and  thing  are 
copied  from  a bamboo  hi-shaka,  or  Ja})anese  dipper. 
The  change  from  p to  h and  back  again  is  not  uncom- 
mon in  the  different  pai*ts  of  Japan  proper;  the. 
northern  Jajjanese  dialect  uses  pi  instead  of  hi  for  fire, 
and  in  the  southwest — Nagasaki,  for  instance — they 
say  Ji.  In  Tokyo,  again,  people  commonly  make  yet 
another  change  in  this  slippery  syllable,  and  say  shi 


THE  AINU  ABORIGINES. 


5 


instead  of  hi.  The  northern  dialect  i?  quite  rough, 
the  peasants  speaking  as  if  they  had  their  mouths 
shut,  and  slurring  or  suppressing  vowels.  Merely  in 
listening  to  it,  Ainu  sounds  much  more  harsh  and 
cou.souantal  than  Japanese,  and  certainly  looks  so 
Avhen  it  is  written  down  in  English  letters,  as  ]\Ir, 
Batchelor  has  done  for  them  with  great  thorouglmess 
and  patience. 

One  theory  of  Ainu  origin  brings  them  from  the 
north,  chiefly  because  their  iufenio  is  cold,  and  their 
best  wish  for  a friend,  “ May  you  be  kept  warm  ! ” 
As  we  only  know  tlieir  beliefs  and  traditions  as  they 
cxi.st  now,  after  centuries  of  banishment  from  warmer 
regions,  where  we  know  they  lived  till  historical  time.s, 
this  evidence  cannot  be  considered  very  conclusive. 
On  the  other  side,  there  is  an  Ainu  tradition  that  in 
the  beginning  all  the  world  was  very  hot — which  of 
course  may  very  likely  be  a memory  of  some  volcanic 
region.  At  this  time,  says  the  legend,  the  Ainu 
would  have  fared  badly  but  for  Okikurumi,  a being 
who  appears  in  many  stories  as  a culture  hero,  teach- 
ing and  ])roviding  for  the  Ainu  forefathers.  Okiku- 
rumi caught  fish  and  sent  it  to  the  Ainu  by  his  wife, 
Turesh  or  Tureshi,  who  put  it  in  at  the  window.  The 
Ainu  were  forbidden  to  look  at  Turesh  or  ask  any 
(piestions,  and  for  a long  time  they  obeyed ; but  at 
last  one  man  becatne  very  curious,  and  one  day,  when 
Turesh  came  to  the  window,  he  caught  her  by  the 
hand  and  pulled  her  inside.  Okikurumi  was  very 


6 


JAPAN. 


angry  at  this,  and  sent  no  more  fish,  and  since  then 
the  Ainu  have  had  to  take  care  of  themselves  as  best 
they  can. 

I was  told  much  the  same  story  by  the  Japanese 
in  Sapporo,  but  according  to  them  it  was  the  Koro- 
puk-guru  (the  dwarfs)  who  ased  to  bring  the  Ainu 
food  and  other  good  things,  and  were  frightened  off 
by  some  one’s  rudeness.  The  Ainu  have  many 
legends  about  these  Koropuk-guru,  who,  they  say, 
were  plenty  in  the  land  in  the  good  old  times.  They 
had  blue  eyes,  and  were  so  small  that  they  could  live 
under  a big  dock  leaf,  whence  the  name.  (It  should 
be  remarked  here  that  Hokkaido  dock  leaves  are  two 
feet  or  more  long.)  They  were  the  “ Good  People,” 
as  the  Scotch  say,  and  did  many  kind  deeds,  but  did 
not  like  to  be  spied  upon  or  thanked,  and  conducted 
themselves  altogether  like  the  Brownies  of  our  own 
folk  tales.  Among  the  Ainu  somebody  always  has  a 
grandmother  who  has  seen  one,  but  in  these  degener- 
ate days  they  are  all  quite  gone,  leaving  only  another 
puzzle  for  the  archaeologists. 

On  the  whole,  the  weight  of  evidence  .seems  to  be 
that  there  really  was  another  race,  probably  older  than 
the  Ainu  even,  perhaps  the  same  as  the  “ Earth 
Spiders  ” of  Japanese  tradition,  who  lived  in  caves 
and  fought  with  Jimmu  Tenno  and  the  first  ancestors. 
At  any  rate,  there  are  mounds  all  over  Japan,  whether 
of  the  Ainu  or  another  people,  in  which  stone  imple- 
ments and  pottery  are  found,  which  bear  no  resem- 


THE  AINU  ABOEIGINES.  7 

blance  to  anything  the  Japanese  have  ever  made ; more- 
over, the  Japanese  certainly  liad  iron  weapons  when 
they  first  reached  Japan,  and  must  have  jJassed  through 
the  stone  and  bronze  ages  elsewhere.  And,  finally, 
all  over  the  Hokkaido  there  are  remains  of  pit-dwell- 
ings, which  the  Ainu  declare  they  never  have  used, 
nor  have  the  Japanese  any  tradition  connecting  them 
with  the  Ainu.  Of  course,  it  is  not  impossible  that 
at  some  time  the  Ainu  might  have  lived  part  of  the 
year  in  such  places  ; just  as  the  Australian  blacks  used 
to  have  straw  huts  for  summer  and  holes  for  winter, 
and  the  Chinook  Indians  of  British  Columbia  dig 
what  they  call  “ kergwilly  holes  ” and  roof  them  over 
for  the  cold  ]>art  of  the  year,  but  return  to  their  skin 
tents  in  summer.  But  so  far  as  has  been  found  there 
is  not  a legend  among  the  Ainu  to  point  this  way. 

A few  years  ago  Profe.ssor  Tsuboi,  of  the  University 
of  Tokyo,  opened  one  of  these  mounds,  which  was  on 
the  side  of  Akusa  hill  at  Oji ; he  found  first  of  all  a 
bed  of  clam  shells,  mixed  with  bones  of  animals  and 
charred  fragments,  and  then  four  polished  stone  axes, 
some  chipped  ones,  stones  round  and  scpiare,  having 
holes  through  the  middle,  much  broken  potterv,  and 
two  earthen  vessels  quite  uninjured.  The  articles  re- 
sembled those  found  at  Omori,  near  Tokyo,  and  else- 
where throughout  the  country.  The  potterv  is  very 
light  in  weight,  unglazed,  and  made  with  the  hand, 
not  the  wheel.  Professor  Tsuboi  believes  these  re- 
mains to  belong  to  a race  identical  with  the  legendary 


8 


JAPAN. 


Koropuk-guru,  probably  related  to  the  Esquimaux, 
who  are  small,  full-faced,  use  stone  implements,  and 
tattoo  the  face  and  hands,  much  as  the  small  images 
are  marked  which  are  fi’equently  found  in  these 
mounds.  But  Professor  Milne  thinks  the  designs  in 
the  pottery  resemble  Ainu  patterns,  and  points  out 
that  the  shell  heaps  are  found  in  places  known  to  hav’e 
been  inhabited  by  Ainu. 

Of  course  the  evidence  that  the  Ainu  did  not  once 
make  pottery  is  only  negative ; they  certainly  never 
did  in  historical  times,  but  that  does  not  of  itself 
prove  anything ; they  may  have  had  the  art  and  lost 
it  after  contact  with  the  more  advanced  race,  as  witness 
several  tribes  of  our  own  Indians.  Their  own  legend 
on  the  subject  is  this : Once,  a very  long  time  ago,  an 
old  Ainu  woman  was  struek  with  the  idea  of  makingr 
vessels  out  of  elay,  and  she  actually  did  make  one. 
She  was  so  delighted  with  it  that  she  started  out  for 
the  village  to  shoAV  it  to  her  neighbors ; but  on  the 
Avay  it  dropped  and  broke  all  to  pieces,  and  she  was  so 
disgusted  that  she  never  made  another. 

This  story  has  an  air  of  having  been  invented  to 
account  for  something  the  Ainu  Avere  rather  ashamed 
of,  like  the  one  Avhich  relates  hoAv  a stranger  came 
from  no  one  kneAV  Avhere,  and  stayed  Avith  Okikurumi, 
and  taught  him  several  things,  sueh  as  roAving  Avith 
tAVo  oars  instead  of  paddling,  but  aa’Iio  finally  ran  aAA’ay 
with  Okikurumi’s  Avife  and  his  tAvo  treasures,  aaIucIi 
were  a book  and  a counting  board.  “ And  this  is  the 


THE  AINU  ABOEIGINES. 


9 


reason  why,  ever  since,  vre  Ainu  have  not  been  able  to 
read.” 

In  the  version  given  by  Mr.  Batchelor,  it  was 
AMshitsune,  Japanese  hero  and  Ainu  deity,  who  lost 
the  book,  and  with  it  the  art  of  readino-  and  writing. 

It  is  certainly  verj'  clear  that  the  Ainu  character 
must  have  greatly  changed  in  historical  times,  and  it 
is  difficult  to  realize  that  these  harmless,  good-natured, 
stupid  creatures  are  the  same  race  as  the  Ebisu,  or 
Emishi,  whom  A'amato-tiike  and  A'oshiiye  and  the  re.st 
had  so  much  trouble  to  subdue.  Still,  many  of  our 
American  Indians  present  much  the  same  jticture  of 
degeneration,  mental  and  physical.  There  are  very 
definite  acc-ounts  of  battles  with  them,  and  evidence, 
too,  in  the  quantity"  of  stone  arrowheads  foimd  in  some 
places,  notably  near  ^lororan,  where  it  would  seem  there 
must  have  been  a tremendous  fight  at  some  time,  though 
it  may  possibly  have  been  between  Ainu  and  Ainu,  or 
Ainu  and  pit  dwellers,  and  not  with  the  Japanese  at 
all.  They  were  assurctlly  once  scattered  all  over  the 
land,  from  the  north  down  to  Kiushiu ; for  if  they  are 
ruled  out  of  the  |X)ttcry  question,  there  remains 
abundant  testimony  of  their  presence  in  the  geograph- 
ical names  found  ever^’where  in  old  Japan  and  not  of 
Japanese  origin.  The  names  are  disguised,  sometimes 
piist  recognition,  in  much  the  same  way  as  the  Danish 
Mere  of  Buther  got  changed  into  Buttermere,  and 
Dun-y-coed  became  Dunagoat;  but  Professor  Cham- 
berlain has  traced  out  enough  of  them  to  more  than 


10 


JAPAN. 


prove  their  presence  on  half  the  mountains  and  rivers 
in  Japan.* 

One  way  in  which  the  names  were  disguised  was  this : 
In  old  times  people  called  the  places  by  the  names 
their  ancestors  had  given  them,  without  feeling  any 
need  of  writing  them  down  ; or  when  they  did  write 
them,  say  for  purposes  of  taxation,  it  was  done  either 
phonetically  or  witli  the  Chinese  cliaracter  denoting 
the  thing  the  place  was  named  for ; thus  Takayama,  the 
high  mountain,  would  be  written  with  the  two  charac- 
ters for  mountain  and  high.  Later,  for  convenience  of 
registration,  an  order  of  the  government  went  forth 
that  every  place-name  must  be  written  in  characters, 
not  phonetically.  Now  the  difficulty  was  that  the 
places  which  had  Ainu  names  often  did  not  mean  any- 
thing in  Japanese,  and  consequently  had  no  character 
with  which  they  could  be  written ; and  the  only  thing 
to  do  was  to  use  the  characters  which  made  the  right 
sound,  whether  there  was  any  sense  to  it  or  not.  So 
Yamashiro  might  be  in  Japanese  “mountain  white,” 
or  in  Ainu  “place of  chestnut  trees;”  but  Touami  in 
Japanese  will  make  nothing  better  than  “ hares  in  a 
row,”  while  in  Ainu  it  would  be  “ stream  from  the 
lake,”  and  entirely  appropriate.  Besides  dozens  of 
well  proved  cases  there  are  probably  Inmdreds  more 
which  are  so  covered  up  that  it  is  impossible  now  to 

1 “ The  Language,  Mythology  and  Geographical  Nomenclature  of 
Japan,  viewed  in  the  light  of  Ainu  Studies.”  By  Basil  Hall  Cham- 
berlain, University  of  Tokyo. 


THE  AINU  ABORIGINES. 


11 


say  whether  they  were  originally  Japanese  or  belonged 
to  the  first  owners  of  the  land.  Even  Fuji,  the  peer- 
less mountain,  was  almost  certainly  the  Ainu  Fuchi 
or  Huchi,  the  goddess  of  fire. 

Like  the  Japanese,  the  Ainu  begin  to  build  a house 
roof  first,  making  the  horizontal  frame  and  placing 
the  supports  and  ridgepole,  and  laying  shoi’ter  pieces 
for  rafttjrs ; all  these  are  tied  together  with  rope  made 
of  bark  fil)re,  or  with  vines.  Then  they  drive  poles 
into  the  ground  a few  feet  apart,  and  tie  .short  hori- 
zontal pieces  from  one  to  the  other ; the  poles  are 
about  five  or  si.v  feet  high,  and  have  each  a fork  at  the 
top.  \\'hen  tliis  is  ready,  they  lift  the  roof-frame 
iKxlily  and  set  it  on  the  forked  poles  and  tie  it  fast, 
and  the  framework  is  ready  to  be  thatched. 

So  far  it  is  not  unlike  a Japanese  house,  except  that 
the  gable  ends  slope  back  much  less,  and  the  roof 
slants  a great  deal  more.  But  instead  of  filling  the 
walls  with  woven  reeds  and  daubing  it  with  mud  or 
jJaster,  like  the  Japane.se  peasant,  the  Ainu  thatches 
his  house  from  top  to  bottom,  tying  the  straw  in 
bundles  and  fastening  it  to  the  frame  with  bark  ropes. 
On  the  roof  the  bundles  of  straw  overlap  one  an- 
other, making  four  or  five  hoi’izontal  ridges  in  place 
of  the  smooth  Japanese  thatch  ; the  ends  ])roject,  form- 
ing deep  eave.s,  and  the  sides  of  the  house  often  slope  out 
a little  toward  the  bottom,  like  a haystack.  There  is 
a small  p)rch  at  the  west  end,  which  is  used  as  a kind 
of  outhon.se  for  storing  wood  and  doing  rough  work ; 


12 


JAPAN. 


the  outdoor  opening  of  the  porch  is  on  the  south  side. 
There  is  a window  in  the  south  side  of  the  house 
proper,  liigh  up  under  the  oaves,  and  another  in  the 
east  end ; this  last  is  the  .sacred  end,  and  outside  of  it 
they  set  the  “ sacred  hedge  ” — a row  of  sticks  set  up 
roughly,  on  which  they  place  the  skulls  of  bears  and 
other  animals.  ^lats  hung  before  the  windows  and 
door,  and  a smoke  vent  in  the  west  end  of  the  roof, 
complete  the  house-building  arrangements. 

Each  family  has  usually  a detached  store-house — a 
small  thatched  affair  set  up  on  piles — to  keep  out  dogs 
and  foxes ; they  also  put  a flat  piece  of  board  at  the 
top  of  each  pole  to  keep  the  rats  from  climbing  up 
and  eating  the  stores  of  millet  and  beans  and  dried 
salmon  put  away  for  the  winter.  Rats  are  quite  as 
bothersome  in  the  north  as  in  the  rest  of  Japan,  but 
the  Ainu  seem  to  have  a good  word  for  them  never- 
theless, to  judge  by  one  of  Mr.  Batchelor’s  tales.  It 
seems  the  missionary  made  .some  impatient  remarks 
about  these  animals,  and  an  old  Ainu  reproved  him, 
saying,  “ After  the  creator  had  finished  making  the 
world,  he  came  down  to  see  how  everything  looked. 
As  he  was  reviewing  his  works,  the  evil  one  appeared, 
and  derided  him,  saying,  ‘ Doubtless  you  think  you 
have  done  a veiy  good  deed,  and  made  all  things  for 
the  best.  But  look  at  this  bramble  bush  and  thistle ; 
what  can  be  the  use  of  such  things  as  these  ?’  The 
god  Avas  angry  at  these  remarks ; so  he  put  his  hand 
behind  his  back  and  created  a rat.  As  soon  as  the  rat 


THE  AINU  ABOKIGINES. 


13 


was  made  it  rushed  into  the  evil  one’s  mouth  and  bit 
out  his  tongue.  Hence  the  evil  one  has  no  tongue  to 
this  day,  for  it  never  grew  again.”  The  story  goes  on 
to  say  that  the  evil  one  was  very  angry,  and  made  the 
rats  increase  greatly,  so  that  they  were  a great  nuisance 
on  the  earth  ; wherefore  the  Ainu  petitioned  the  creator 
to  take  them  away,  but  instead  he  let  the  rats  live  and 
to  keep  things  even  created  cats.  “ Let  us,  therefore,” 
said  the  old  man,  “ bear  with  the  rats  a little,  for  they 
did  a good  thing  in  biting  out  the  tongue  of  the  evil 
one.  Moreover,  do  not  speak  against  anything  that 
God  has  made,  for  see  how  he  punished  the  evil  one 
for  doing  so.” 

A very  large  proportion  of  the  Ainu  stories  are  tales 
of  animals  who  take  human  form  or  speak  with  human 
voices.  To  the  Ainu  these  are  not  mere  fairy  tales, 
but  sober  historical  facts,  or  explanations  of  natural 
phenomena,  such  as  “Why  the  Cock  cannot  Fly”  and 
“ The  Origin  of  the  Hare.”  One  of  the  neatest  is  the 
story  of  the  “Stolen  Charm,”  which  also  gives  a good 
character  to  the  rat. 

A certain  man  had  a charm  which  he  valued  more 
tluin  anything  he  had.  One  day  it  disappeared,  and 
the  man  was  so  troubled  that  he  refused  all  food,  and 
lay  down  to  die. 

Now  the  man  had  a fox  cub  and  a puppy,  to  which 
he  was  very  kind.  When  these  creatures  saw  their 
master  was  sick,  the  fox  said  to  the  puppy,  “ If  our 
master  dies,  we  shall  starve.  We  had  better  look  for 


14 


JAPAN. 


that  charm.”  So  they  looked  and  looked,  but  it  \va.s 
nowhere  to  be  found. 

Then  the  fox  cub  bethought  him  of  the  wieked  ogre 
on  the  mountain,  and  lie  said,  “ Beyond  a doubt  the 
ogre  has  stolen  our  master’s  charm.”  So  they  deter- 
mined to  go  and  steal  it  back,  but  fearing  they  could 
not  manage  the  matter  alone,  they  asked  a wi.se  old  rat 
to  help  them.  So  the  three  f^et  out. 

^\’hen  they  came  to  the  ogre’s  hou.se,  the  rat  and  the 
fox  dug  a pa.ssage  under  the  house,  and  they  all  crejit 
through.  In  the  hou.se  was  a large  chest ; .so  while  the 
rat  gnawed  a hole,  the  fox  cub  and  the  pnj)j)y  turned 
into  a pretty  little  boy  and  girl  and  began  to  dance  and 
amuse  the  ogre,  Avho  had  been  watching  for  the  man  to 
die,  but  now  turned  to  look  at  the  two  sujiposed  chil- 
dren. He  thought  there  was  something  queer  about 
it,  becau.se  the  door  was  shut,  and  he  did  not  see  how 
they  got  in  ; but  he  thought  he  would  amuse  himself 
for  a little  while  and  then  eat  them  up.  Meamvhile 
the  rat  made  a hole  and  got  into  the  box,  and  found 
the  eharm;  .so  he  took  it  in  his  mouth  and  ran  away, 
and  the  fox  and  the  pnjipy  slijiped  out  after  him.  The 
ogre  .started  to  chase  them,  but  when  he  .saw  one  was  a 
fox,  ho  thought  it  Avould  be  safer  to  let  him  go,  and 
he  went  back  into  his  hon.'^c.  So  the  fox  cub  and  the 
puppy  brought  the  charm  to  their  master’s  house, 
and  put  it  under  the  bed,  and  then  they  played  about 
him  and  pulled  his  sleeve  till  he  looked  down  and  saw 
it ; and  he  was  .so  pleased  that  he  became  well  at  once. 


THE  AINU  ABORIGINES. 


15 


The  way  people  knew  all  this  was  that  the  puppy 
and  the  fox  cub  appeared  to  their  master  in  a dream, 
and  told  him  all  about  it;  and  he  worshiped  the  rat, 
because  it  had  helped  out  of  pure  kindness,  not  being 
one  of  the  family,  as  the  fox  and  the  puppy  were. 
Therefore  you  see  the  rat  is  not  such  a bad  animal, 
after  all. 

But  to  come  back  to  the  houses.  The  floor  of  an 
xVinu  hut  is  bare  beaten  earth,  in  the  mid.st  of  which 
a long,  narrow  space  serves  for  fireplace,  being  marked 
off  by  pieces  of  wood  laid  along  the  sides  and  ends. 
The  east  end  of  the  house  is  the  gue.st’s  jdace;  the 
master  sits  on  the  right  and  the  mi.stress  by  him.  The 
northeast  corner  is  the  place  where  the  family  posses- 
sions are  stored,  treasures  of  lacquered  sake  cups  and 
sword-handles  and  such  thing.s,  and  the  spears  and 
arrows  and  fishing  things.  The  bed-places  are  plat- 
form.s,  slightly  rai.sed  from  the  floor  and  hung  with 
mats,  and  mats  are  also  u.sed  to  sit  and  sleep  on — not 
thick  ones  like  the  Japanese  tatami,  but  ordinary  thin 
ones  woven  of  rushes  and  elm  bark,  part  of  which  is 
stained  black,  and  the  dark  and  light  used  cleverly 
to  make  exceeKlingly  pretty  bivsket-work  patterns. 

Their  hou.sehold  utensils  arc  of  the  sinqdcst.  An 
iron  pot  hangs  over  the  fire  on  an  iron  chain,  both  ob- 
tained from  the  Japanese;  or  sometime.s  they  cook  in 
bark  kettles  covered  with  clay,  and  the  pot  hook  is 
quite  as  often  wood  as  iron.  The  mistre-ss  of  the  house 
sits  by  the  ]x>t,  and  ladles  out  the  food  to  each  person 


IG 


JAPAN. 


ill  his  or  her  own  dish — a kind  of  large  wooden  cup 
or  deep  trencher.  These  dishes  acquire  a fine  black 
color,  as  dark  as  any  bog  oak,  by  the  simple  process 
of  never  washing  them ! A wipe  with  the  finger  is 
considered  all  that  good  manners  require. 

They  still  live  almost  entirely  by  fishing  and  hunt- 
ing, the  fish  being  still  plenty,  the  game  yearly  more 
scarce.  For  deer  hunting  they  u.sed  dogs,  which  were 
trained  to  keep  the  herd  back  until  the  hunters  could 
come  up  and  shoot  them  with  poisoned  arrows.  They 
also  use  a kind  of  primitive  bagpipe,  made  of  fish-skins 
tied  over  a piece  of  wood,  to  imitate  the  cry  of  the 
deer  and  decoy  them  within  reach.  Xets  and  fish- 
traps  they  once  used,  but  these  are  now  forbidden,  and 
they  stand  on  the  shore  or  in  their  long,  narrow  dug- 
outs,  and  cast  a spear  or  harpoon  with  great  skill. 
Japanese  law  now  forbids  the  use  of  poisoned  arrows, 
which  is  a sad  handicap  to  Ainu  hunters ; their  former 
plan  was  to  set  a spring  with  one  of  these  arrows,  and 
then  drive  the  game  to  it.  The  head  of  the  arrow  was 
lightly  fastened  on,  and  broke,  leaving  the  poison 
inside,  even  if  a bear  or  fox  managed  to  pull  out  the 
shaft.  Tliey  Avould  go  out  in  winter,  when  the  big 
grizzlies  were  lying  up  in  their  holes,  and  by  shouts 
and  smoke  drive  them  out  into  the  open ; or  even  ven- 
ture into  the  den  if  Bruin  refused  to  be  disturbed. 

The  bear  is  their  special  admiration,  the  greatest  of 
their  animal  gods,  and  a bear  feast  is  the  highest  de- 
light an  Ainu  can  conceive.  Formerly  these  feasts 


THE  AINU  ABOKIGINES. 


17 


used  to  be  held  every  year  in  each  village,  but  they  are 
growing  rare,  both  for  want  of  bears  and  of  sake — the 
last  being  almost  as  essential  as  the  bear.  Their  plan 
is  to  catch  a young  bear  and  keep  him  in  a cage  for  a 
year  or  two,  feeding  and  watching  over  him  most  care- 
fully. Mr.  Batchelor  could  not  get  his  Ainu  to  ac- 
knowledge that  the  women  ever  suckled  them,  but 
Mrs.  Todd  saw  one  do  it  at  Esaslii.  When  the  proper 
day  comes  and  sake  is  plenty,  the  whole  village  assem- 
bles ; the  cub  is  let  out  of  the  cage,  chased  to  the  sacred 
hedge,  and  killed  with  arrows  so  that  he  falls  in  front 
of  it.  Once  dead,  politeness  begins  again;  saluta- 
tions, praises,  greetings  as  lord,  crownings  with  white 
■willow  shavings  and  bamboo;  finally  a feast  of  his  flesh 
and  a colossal  drinking.  The  chiefs  wear  crowns  of 
willow  shavings,  the  cups  are  wreathed  with  them,  and 
SQ,  too,  was  the  bow  that  shot  and  the  knife  that  finally 
dispatched  my  lord  bear. 

Just  what  these  willow  shavings  mean  is  not  at  all 
clear.  The  Ainu  use  them  almost  precisely  as  the 
Japanese  use  cut  paper  gohei,  as  a symbol  of  divinity 
in  the  most  general  sense ; but  e.xce[)t  similarity  of 
])urpose,  there  is  no  traceable  connection  between  the 
two — and  for  that  matter,  the  meaning  of  the  gohei 
themselves  is  exceedingly  vague  and  indefinite. 

The  Ainu  have  no  idols,  and  the  “ sacred  hed^e  ” is 
their  nearest  aj)proach  to  a temple;  but  when  they 
are  about  to  worshiji,  they  set  up  what  they  call  an 
inao — a willow  stick,  about  three  or  three  and  a half 
VoL.  II.- -2 


18 


JAPAN, 


feet  long,  carefully  pealed,  and  shaved  up  toward  the 
tliicker  end,  so  that  the  shavings  curl  up  and  hang 
like  a tassel  all  about  it.  The  lower  end  is  sharpened 
so  that  it  will  stick  in  the  ground  easily.  For  certain 
occasions  the  shaving  is  done  in  three  bunches, 
instead  of  only  at  the  top.  These  inao  are  in  no 
sense  gods,  or  even  symbols  of  individual  gods,  but 
the  placing  of  them  is  in  itself  an  act  of  worship,  as 
appears  by  the  following  tale  : 

A little  boy  frequently  had  another  little  boy  and 
girl  come  to  play  with  him,  but  no  one  else  could  see 
them,  because  they  were  spirits.  By  and  by  the  child 
fell  sick ; and  when  he  seemed  to  be  about  to  die,  the 
little  boy  and  the  little  girl  came  to  him,  and  said, 
“ The  reason  you  are  sick  is  this  : Your  grandfather 
had  a beautiful  axe,  and  with  it  he  made  a tray  and  a 
pestle,  such  as  Ainu  women  use  to  pound  millet. 
But  your  father  threw  away  the  axe,  which  was  our 
chief,  and  it  is  rusting  under  the  floor ; and  because 
the  axe  was  angry,  it  has  made  you  ill.  So  if  you  do 
not  want  to  die,  you  must  tell  your  father  to  find  the 
axe,  and  polish  it,  and  make  it  a new  handle,  and  set 
up  inao  in  its  honor.” 

So  the  boy  told  his  father,  and  he  searched  under 
the  floor  and  found  the  axe,  and  he  polished  it  and 
made  a new  handle,  and  set  up  inao  to  it.  And  his 
son  was  healed,  and  became  a great  soothsayer,  for  the 
pestle  and  the  tray  and  the  axe  came  to  him  in  human 
form,  and  told  him  things  hidden  from  other  mortals. 


THE  AINU  ABOKIGINES. 


19 


The  story  shows  another  point — namely,  that  the 
Ainu  believe  all  sorts  of  things  have  spirits,  and  may 
appear  in  human  form,  and  help  or  hinder  people  as 
they  are  disposed.  Accordingly,  they  worship  gods 
innumerable,  both  small  and  great,  spirits  of  places 
and  of  fire  and  water  and  springs,  of  animals  and 
plants,  and  inanimate  objects.  Hitchcock  calls  their 
religion  “a  very  primitive  nature-worship,’’  and  their 
gods  “ invisible,  formless  conceptions.”  The  fire  god 
is  the  greatest,  then  the  god  of  the  house ; after  them 
the  earth  god  and  the  .sea  god,  and  the  gods  of  rivers 
and  mountains,  and  as  lesser  deities  the  gods  of  the 
sun  and  moon.  As  they  have  no  temples,  they  simply 
place  the  inao  in  the  ground  wherever  they  wish  and 
worshi[)  before  it,  as  at  the  hearth  for  the  fii’e  god,  in 
the  sacred  corner — the  east — for  the  house  god,  and 
for  the  rest  of  the  deities  before  the  sacred  hedge,  out- 
side the  house  at  the  east  end.  This  orientation,  by 
the  way,  is  by  no  means  always  an  exact  one.  Prob- 
ably they  do  have  the  intention  of  placing  the  door  to 
the  south,  and  the  window  to  the  rising  sun,  and  the 
other  ])arts  have  always  the  .same  general  relation ; 
but  IMrs.  Todd  te.sted  many  houses  at  Esashi,  and  found 
few  of  them  stood  really  east  and  west,  and  Hitchcock 
also  doubts  it. 

The  bear  fea.st  is  their  one  great  festival  and  relig- 
ious exercise  combined,  though  they  pray  and  make 
libations  invariably  before  drinking  sake.  The  drink- 
ing at  a bear  feast  is  the  crowning  ceremony  of  all. 


20 


JAPAN. 


and  tlie  most  absolutely  unique.  When  the  time 
comes,  the  chiefs  sit  solemnly  in  a row,  the  lesser  men 
likewise ; before  each  man  is  a large  lacquered  cup, 
holding  nearly  a tumblerful  of  sake,  and  across  each 
cup  is  laid  a flat  stick,  which  looks  like  a paper  knife, 
and  is  carved  all  over  with  triangles  and  lozenges  and 
other  characteristic  devices,  or  whittled  with  clean 
new  .shavings,  like  the  inao  and  the  shaving  crowns 
of  the  chiefs.  After  proper  bowings  and  strokings 
of  the  beard  — the  Ainu  mode  of  .salutation  — each 
man  dips  his  stick  into  the  .sake,  throws  a drop  from 
its  tip  as  an  offering  to  the  earth  god,  dips  again 
and  throws  another  to  the  fire  god,  and  so  to  any 
other  whom  he  desires  to  worship  esjiecially  at  this 
time ; then,  holding  the  .stick  across  his  mouth,  he 
solemnly  lifts  his  long  mou.stache  with  it,  and  sol- 
emnly drinks.  These  libations  accom[)li.died,  cere- 
mony is  satisfied,  and  the  drinking  goes  on  freely  till 
every  one  is  drunk,  or  there  is  nothing  left. 

The  women  have  no  part  in  the.se  drinking  feasts; 
they  are  not  allowed  to  drink  sake  at  all,  nor  to  have 
any  religion — or  at  least  to  offer  any  worship,  which 
is  not  quite  the  same  thing.  They  must  greet  a man 
by  rubbing  one  finger  over  the  lip,  and  they  may  not 
speak  till  he  gives  permission.  Yet,  with  all  this 
submission,  they  say  an  Ainu  fears  nothing  so  much 
as  an  old  woman’s  tongue. 

The  gho.sts  of  old  women  .seem  to  be  considered 
particularly  malignant ; indeed,  the  Ainu  are  exceed- 


THE  AINU  ABOEIGINES. 


21 


in^ly  afraid  of  ghosts  of  any  kind,  and  put  the  graves 
of  their  dead  far  away  in  tlie  forest,  taking  great 
pains  to  avoid  going  near  the  place.  If  for  any  reason 
one  has  to  come  in  contact  with  the  dead,  or  visit  its 
grave,  he  is  careful  to  wash  his  hands  and  rinse  his 
mouth  before  entering  any  house,  and  to  brush  him- 
self with  an  inao,  so  that,  if  the  spirit  has  cast  any 
disease  or  defilement  on  him,  the  water  and  the  inao 
may  take  it  away. 

When  an  Ainu  dies,  the  first  thing  that  is  done  is 
to  build  up  a great  fire  in  the  house.  Mr.  Batchelor 
says  that  they  think  the  heat  may  possibly  bring 
back  life,  but  though  this  may  be  their  idea  now,  it 
seems  more  likely  that  some  other  ceremonial  reason 
has  been  forgotten.  He  also  mentions  the  secondary 
object  of  cooking  the  funeral  feast.  The  body  is  then 
neatly  dressed  in  good  clothes  and  laid  on  a mat  by 
the  firejdace,  and  a dish  or  two  and  a drinking-cuj) 
laid  be.sideit;  also  ajipropriate  implements — if  it  is  a 
man,  his  flint  and  steel,  bow  and  arrows  and  knife, 
and  a few  moustache  lifters,  of  which  every  man  has 
good  store.  Beside  a woman  they  place  a cooking- 
pot,  and  her  beads  and  other  ornaments;  for  both 
men  and  women  there  must  be  a pipe  and  a well-filled 
tobacco-box — I had  almost  .said  j)ouch,  but  what  the 
Ainu  uses  is  a carved  box,  which  hangs  by  a string  to 
the  pipe-ca.se,  which  he  thrusts  iuto  his  girdle.  A 
cake  of  millet  (or  a cup  of  rice,  if  they  have  any)  and 
a cup  of  .sake  are  also  placed  by  the  body.  Tlieir 


22 


JAPAN. 


belief  .seems  to  be  that  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  that 
the  spirit  of  the  food — its  Ka,  as  the  Egyptians  called 
it — will  nourish  the  Ka  of  the  person  to  whom  it  is 
offered.  At  the  feast  which  follows,  all  the  family 
and  guests  throw  a few  drops  of  sake  as  a libation  to 
the  departed  .spirit,  and  break  off  a little  piece  of 
millet  cake  and  bury  it  in  the  ashes  of  the  hearth. 
After  the  burial,  the.se  pieces  are  gathered  up  and  put 
outside  the  hou.se  before  the  east  window. 

The  body  is  carried  to  the  grave  wrapped  in  a mat 
and  slung  on  a pole,  the  mourners  following  in  .single 
file,  each  carrying  something  to  be  placed  in  the  grave. 
These  objects  are  broken  before  being  laid  with  the 
body,  .so  that  they  may  go  to  the  other  world,  where 
the  dead  are  believed  to  live  very  much  as  they  did  in 
this  life. 

The  grave  is  sometimes  lined  with  stakes,  and  a 
mat  is  laid  on  the  bottom  and  others  at  the  sides ; 
after  the  body  has  been  lowered,  another  mat  is 
spread  over  it,  and  a roof  of  sticks  laid  across,  on 
which  the  earth  is  piled  Finally  a great  deal  of 
brush  and  larger  pieces  of  wood  are  heaped  on  top, 
to  keep  away  the  bears,  wolves  and  foxes,  and  a pole 
.set  up  in  the  midst.  When  everything  is  finished,  all 
who  have  taken  part  wash  their  hands  in  water 
brought  for  the  purpo.se;  the  water  that  is  left  is 
thrown  on  the  grave,  and  the  tub  in  which  it  was 
carried  is  broken  and  thrown  at  the  foot  of  the  grave 
post. 


THE  AINU  ABORIGINES. 


23 


The  object  of  this  post  seems  to  be  less  to  serve  as 
a memorial  of  the  dead,  whom  the  Ainu  consider  it 
safest  to  think  about  as  little  as  possible,  than  as  a 
warning  to  hunters  and  other  people  to  avoid  the 
spot,  lest  the  spirit  should  defile  them  and  work  them 
a mischief.  The  man’s  post  resembles  a spear,  though 
the  Ainu  themselves  told  INIr.  Batchelor  it  was  meant 
for  a paddle ; a woman’s  is  rounded  off  at  the  top, 
where  it  has  a hole  made  through,  sometimes  used  to 
hang  up  some  article  of  her  dre.ss.  The  specimen  in 
the  museum  at  Sapporo  is  carved  all  over  with  the 
characteristic  Ainu  patteru.s,  which  seem  to  be  entirely 
conventional  and  general,  not  individual  totem  marks. 

A widow  shaves  her  head  and  puts  on  a kind  of 
bonnet ; this  she  must  wear  always,  unless  she  remar- 
ries, which  is  permitted  after  a suitable  interval.  A 
man  cuts  his  beard  and  hair,  and  sometimes  even 
plucks  some  of  it  out  in  token  of  his  grief ; he  is  sup- 
po.sed  to  stay  at  home  till  it  has  grown  ag-ain. 

Several  of  the  Ainu  stories  deal  with  visits  of  livingr 

O 

people  to  the  world  of  the  dead.  It  is  reached  by 
entering  a cave  and  going  a long,  long  way  under 
ground.  The  living  can  see  and  recognize  the  dead, 
but  to  these  the  living  are  as  spirits — they  can  only 
smell  what  seems  to  them  a horrible  odor ; but  the 
dogs  see  and  begin  howling,  just  as  dogs  do  in  the 
upper  world  when  there  are  spirits  about,  invisible  to 
men.  Then  the  ghosts  of  the  dead  are  horribly 
afraid,  and  they  throw  offerings  to  the  living — hor- 


24 


JAPAN. 


rible  offerings  of  carrion — for  everything  in  tliat  world 
is  dead  and  corruj)ted.  In  one  of  these  stories,  as 
recorded  hy  Professor  Chamljerlain,  a young  man  who 
goes  down  there  tries  in  vain  to  make  his  father  recog- 
nize him  ; when  lie  speaks,  the  father  throws  himself 
on  the  ground,  crying  out  in  terror.  In  Mr.  Batch- 
elor’s version,  the  young  man  went  to  ask  his  father 
to  compel  the  older  brother  to  share  the  inheritance 
Avith  him,  and  not  being  able  to  make  his  father 
understand,  he  bethought  him  to  enter  into  one  of 
the  people  in  the  village  of  the  dead,  just  as  ghosts 
enter  into  the  bodies  of  living  men  and  speak  through 
them  ; which  he  did  with  entire  suceess,  so  that  when 
he  returned  to  the  living  world,  his  brother  was 
afraid,  and  repented,  and  gav^e  back  his  share  of  the 
goorls. 

Another  of  the  stories  is  the  Avorld-old  myth  of  the 
food  of  Hades.  A young  hunter  shot  a bear,  but  it 
ran  away  and  entered  a cave.  The  hunter  went  in 
after  it,  and  followed  a long  way  under  ground,  until 
he  came  to  a light,  and  passed  out  of  the  cave  into  a 
very  beautiful  region,  where  there  were  trees  and 
houses  and  people.  But  there  was  no  sign  of  his  bear. 
He  followed  it  for  some  time  longer,  and  as  he  AA'ent, 
being  hungry,  he  plucked  the  grapes  and  mulberries 
by  the  path  and  ate  them  without  thought  of  danger. 
But  suddenly  he  looked  down  at  himself  and  saw  that 
he  had  turned  into  a horrible  serpent.  In  terror  and 
despair  he  crept  back  to  the  cave,  and  made  his  Avay 


THE  AINE  ABOKIGINES.  25 

tlirough  it,  and,  lying  down  beside  a great  pine  tree, 
fell  asleep. 

In  his  dreams  a woman  appeared  to  him  and  said, 
“ I am  the  spirit  of  this  pine  tree,  and  I am  sorry  for 
you.  This  has  happened  because  you  ate  the  fruit  of 
Hades ; and  the  only  tiling  you  can  do  is  to  climb  to 
the  top  of  my  tree  and  throw  yourself  down;  then 
perhaps  you  will  become  a man  again.” 

The  hunter  woke,  and  finding  himself  still  a snake, 
decided  that  anything  was  better  than  to  live  in  such 
a state,  .so  he  glided  up  the  tree,  and  threw  himself 
from  the  topmost  branch.  When  he  came  to  himself 
he  was  standing  at  the  foot  of  the  tree,  and  by  it  was 
the  body  of  a great  snake,  with  its  side  ripped  open. 
The  lumter  gratefully  set  up  an  inao,  and  thanked  and 
worshiped  the  pine  tree,  and  then  went  home. 

But  that  night  the  pine  tree  came  again  to  him  and 
said,  “ I have  come  to  tell  you  that  you  cannot  stay 
long  in  the  world  of  men  after  once  eating  the  grapes 
and  mulberries  of  Hades.  There  is  a goddess  in 
Hades  who  wishes  to  marry  you.  She  it  was  who, 
assuming  the  form  of  a bear,  lured  you  into  the 
cavern,  and  thence  to  tlie  under- world.  You  must 
make  up  your  mind  to  come  away.” 

“ -Vnd  so  it  fell  out,”  continued  Professor  Chamber- 
lain’s narrator.  “ The  young  man  awoke,  but  a grave 
sickness  overpowered  him.  A few  days  later  he 
went  a second  time  to  Hades,  and  returned  no  more 
to  the  land  of  the  living.” 


26 


JAPAN. 


The  pine  and  the  oak  are  held  in  .special  reverence 
by  the  Ainu.  They  say  the  reason  is  that  in  the  early 
time,  when  the  world  was  hot,  these  two  trees  were 
the  only  ones  which  could  grow,  and  they  are  there- 
fore the  oldest  trees.  It  is  the  elm,  however,  which 
would  seem  most  worthy  of  honor,  since  it  is  from  two 
species  of  elm  that  they  get  the  bark  fibre  of  which 
they  make  their  clothing.  This  fibre  is  carefully 
picked  from  the  under  side  of  the  bark,  and  soaked  in 
water  until  it  is  pliable,  when  the  women  spin  and 
weave  it  on  small  wooden  hand-looms  as  if  it  were 
flax.  The  cloth  looks  rather  like  a hempen  .«tuflF, 
quite  stiff  and  very  closely  woven ; it  is  nearly  the 
color  of  what  we  call  cocoa  matting,  but  a little  less 
dark. 

The  dress  is  nearly  the  same  as  a Japanese  garment 
or  kimono,  but  shortei’,  reaching  little  below  the  knees 
on  men  and  rather  lower  on  women  ; they  cross  and 
belt  it  with  a narrow  girdle  or  belt,  the  men’s  often 
made  of  leather  and  ornamented  with  pieces  of  metal  ; 
the  sleeves  are  much  smaller  than  those  the  Japanese 
wear,  and  instead  of  being  the  same  width  all  the  way 
down,  as  the  latter’s  are,  they  become  quite  narrow  at 
the  hand.  Women  often  wear  besides  the  dress  a 
narrow  sti’aight  apron,  precisely  like  those  Japanese 
women  wear  to  work  in ; at  least  this  is  so  with  the 
Ainu  I have  seen,  but  in  the  more  remote  places  I 
suspect  this  evidently  Japanese  addition  is  not  known. 
A woman’s  favorite  ornament  is  a string  of  heavy 


THE  AINU  ABORIGINES. 


27 


beads  for  the  neck,  with  a large  metal  disc  for  a pen- 
dent in  the  middle ; if  she  can  get  one  three  or  four 
inches  across,  she  is  happy  indeed.  The  beads  are  a 
curious  mixture  of  bits  of  metal,  glass  and  stone,  and 
colored  beads  from  Japan  or  Europe.  She  also  wears 
metal  ear-rings,  not  heavy,  but  very  large. 

Tlie  men’s  dress  is  much  more  ornate  than  the 
women’s.  The  adornment  is  made  of  strips  of  dark 
blue  Japanese  cotton  cloth,  set  on  in  ap|)licpie,  and 
further  decorated  with  patterns  in  outline  done  with 
white  thread ; the  effect  is  certainly  primitive,  but 
exceedingly  good.  They  say  that  different  villages 
have  their  own  particular  designs,  so  that  an  Ainu  can 
tell  where  another  man  comes  from  by  the  patterns  on 
his  coat.  In  all  these  patterns  that  I have  .seen,  the 
triangle  and  double  spiral — Goodyear’s  famous  ‘‘  lotus 
motive” — appears  persistently  in  all  woi’k  done  in 
carving  or  embroidery — their  only  arts,  except  mat 
weaving.  In  both,  the  most  characteristic  feature  of 
the  pattern  is  the  sharpness  of  the  angles  made  when 
two  lines  meet ; a quality  very  natural  in  applique, 
and  not  out  of  the  way  in  low  relief  wood  carving. 

Besides  the  dre.sses  made  of  woven  fibre,  the  men 
have  rain-coats  of  salmon  skin,  very  thick  and  strong; 
and  these,  too,  are  lavi.shly  ornamented  with  outline 
embroidery  in  Japanese  cotton  thread,  dark  blue  and 
white,  with  occasionally  a little  red  worked  in.  These 
coats  arc  quite  warm,  and  must  turn  the  rain  per- 
fectly. lor  winter  they  use  leggings  of  Japanese 


28 


JAPAN. 


cloth  or  their  own  fibre,  and  high  boots  made  of  straw ; 
Japanese  coolies  often  wear  these  in  the  north  to  keep 
out  the  deep  snow. 

In  the  north,  too,  the  Japanese  sometimes  adopt  the 
Ainu  way  of  carrying  burdens.  Like  the  INIexican 
women,  the  Ainu  puts  his  bundle  into  a loose  rope  net, 
the  ends  of  which  pass  into  a broad  band ; this  band 
is  adjusted  across  the  forehead,  so  that  the  load  re.sts 
partially  on  the  shoulders  and  is  partly  supported  by 
the  head.  I believe  the  Chinook  Indians  of  British 
Columbia  carry  burdens  in  the  same  way. 

More  precious  to  a chief  than  even  his  fine  embroid- 
ered coats  are  certain  treasures  handed  down  as  heir- 
looms from  generation  to  generation ; they  are  finely 
wrought  sword  handles — for  centuries  now  the  Japan- 
ese have  forbidden  the  Ainu  to  possess  swords — 
Japanese  lacquer  drinking  cups  and  stands,  bowls 
almost  in  size,  and  of  a shape  seldom  seen  in  Japan 
now ; and  most  valuable  of  all  large  lacquered  sak6 
tubs  with  lids,  Japanese  of  course,  whieh  are  used  to 
keep  all  the  smaller  articles  in.  Some  years  ago  they 
could  hardly  be  persuaded  to  part  with  these  precious 
articles,  but  now  they  qre  more  and  more  ready  to  sell 
everything  they  possess  for  a drink  of  sake. 

A pathetic  chapter  in  Ainu  history  concerns  the 
transfer  of  a number  of  villages  of  them  from  Sagha- 
lien  to  Yezo.  When  the  lower  half  of  this  island 
Avas  ceded  to  Russia  a few  years  ago,  the  Ainu  popu- 
lation, being  I’egarded  as  Japanese  subjects — wards  of 


THE  AINU  ABORIGINES. 


29 


tlie  government,  as  we  say  of  the  Indians — were  taken 
over  to  Japanese  soil.  But  in  many  cases  people  from 
neighboring  villages  were  separated  by  a considerable 
distance,  and  some  wei’e  settled  inland  on  the  rivers, 
instead  of  by  the  .sea  that  they  knew  ; and  in  their  dull 
way  the  poor  things  were  homesick  and  unhappy.  It 
might  have  been  worse  though  to  leave  them  to  Rus- 
sia’s tender  mercies,  for  the  Japanese  are  at  least 
kindly,  and  mean  to  treat  them  fairly ; tliey  have  no 
such  abu.ses  to  repent  of  as  have  marked  our  ‘‘century 
of  dishonor”  in  the  United  States.  There  are  good 
laws,  and  some  schools,  and  in  Sapporo  an  Ainu 
Preservation  Society ; and  a few  of  the  people  have 
begun  to  farm  a little  under  a kind  of  “ land  in 
severalty”  act.  The  missionaries,  too,  are  hard  at 
work,  doing  their  best  for  both  soul  and  body.  But 
little  can  be  done,  excei>t  for  a few  individuals;  it  is 
a doomed  race,  le.ssening  year  by  year,  pa.ssing  to  those 
shallow  graves  liidden  far  away  in  the  swamps  and 
fore.sts,  where  the  living  never  go.  Yet  let  not  the 
too  zealous  collector  try  to  .seek  out  tliese  lonely  bury- 
ing places.  Some  years  ago,  soon  after  the  opening 
of  the  country,  some  English  and  Continental  scien- 
tists went  out  from  Hakodate  and  rifled  some  graves 
near  Mori,  taking  away  skulls  and  bones  which  were 
sent  safely  otf  to  London  and  St.  Petersburg.  But 
the  Ainu  were  very  angry,  and  complained  to  the 
Japanese  government,  which  reejuired  the  consuls  to 
punish  the  offenders  pretty  severely.  IModern  Japanese 


30 


JAPAN. 


law  is  even  more  strict ; however  hardly  modern  prog- 
ress may  press  upon  the  living  Ainu,  his  dast  is  safe ; 
no  man  may  move  a post  or  trouble  so  much  as  a bone 
of  him. 


CHAPTER  II. 


MIYANOSHITA. 

They  say  in  Tokyo  that  if  you  can  see  Fuji  San  at 
sunrise,  floating  alone  above  the  clouds  which  hide  all 
the  lesser  mountains,  it  is  sure  to  be  fine  weather. 
Later  in  the  day  the  mists  rise  in  horizontal  bands, 
disclosing  the  blue  saw-tooth  of  the  Hakone  range 
across  Fuji’s  base,  and  the  white  cone  grows  fainter 
and  fainter,  paling  into  the  pale  sky,  to  reappear  at 
sunset,  dark  against  the  gold.  They  are  fifty  miles 
away,  those  mountains ; part  of  the  great  barrier 
stretching  right  across  the  island  and  cutting  it  nearly 
in  half.  The  western  part  of  the  range  is  wild  and 
rugged,  little  inhabitetl,  and  even  now  very  difficult 
traveling ; but  the  region  around  lake  Hakone  is 
perfectly  accessible,  and  is  one  of  the  loveliest  parts  of 
Japan — not  grand,  but  of  the  sort  of  gentle  beauty 
that  is  peculiarly  Japanese.  The  range  is  full  of 
memories  of  feudal  times,  of  fightings  and  snrjirises 
around  and  over  the  Hakone  pass  ; and  it  is  also  full 
of  hot  springs,  and  therefore  of  hotels  and  resorts  for 
invalids  and  pleasure-seekers,  for,  wherever  there  is 
hot  water,  there  the  Japanese  are  sure  to  go. 

31 


32 


JAPAN. 


It  is  not  a long  or  a difficult  journey,  only  a matter 
of  three  or  four  hours  from  Yokohama  by  train,  tram 
and  kuruma  successively ; and  even  in  Japan,  it 
would  be  hard  to  find  more  varied  scenery  in  the 
same  time  and  distance.  The  way  is  first  by  the  Toka- 
ido,  the  main  line  of  the  railroad  south wai'd;  passing 
Ofuna,  the  junction  for  Kamakura  and  the  Yokosuka 
line,  and  keeping  on  almost  beside  the  Tokaido  post- 
road, as  it  runs  behind  Sagami  bay.  At  first  the 
country  is  all  rice-fields  and  neat  villages;  then 
comes  a bit  of  sandy  level,  almost  like  the  Jersey  bar- 
rens, which  has  been  planted  with  young  pine  trees, 
whether  for  timber  or  to  hold  the  loose  soil  I do  not 
know.  But,  just  beyond,  in  the  midst  of  the  sand  and 
beautiful  old  groves  of  pine,  is  the  little  .settlement  called 
Oiso,  lying  between  the  sea  and  a sheltering  hill,  which 
has  grown  of  late  into  a fashionable  Japanese  water- 
ing place  ; invalids  come  in  winter  to  breathe  the  soft 
air  of  the  pines  and  take  hot  salt-bath.s,  and  high  gov- 
ernment officials  are  very  apt  to  need  a run  down  here 
about  New  Year  time — of  course,  it  must  be  for  their 
health,  and  not,  as  some  naughty  people  have  been 
known  to  suggest,  to  escape  New  Year’s  calls.  The 
hotels  are  all  Japanese,  but  they  can  provide  more  or 
le.ss  European  food,  if  desired ; and  they  are  arranged 
on  the  delightful  plan,  very  common  at  Japanese 
resorts,  of  having  a central  house  and  numerous  tiny 
cottages,  of  two  or  three  to  five  or  six  rooms,  scat- 
tered about  picturesquely  under  the  hill.  Back  a 


MIYANOSHITA. 


33 


little  in  the  country  there  are  young  peach  orchards — 
a new  thing  in  Jajian ; but  they  flourish  well  on  this 
warm,  sheltered  coast,  and  on  the  edge  of  the  low 
dunes  the  gnarled  live-oaks  are  hung  with  thick 
bunches  of  mistletoe,  looking  like  great  green  birds’ 
nests  in  the  branches. 

A few  miles  farther  on  is  Kodzu,  where  the  railroad 
leaves  the  Tokaido  and  turns  inland  to  make  its  way 
over  the  Hakoue  mountains ; and  here  Miyanoshita 
people  leave  the  train  for  the  tram.  Kodzu  is  only  a 
little  village,  and  the  people  there  seem  to  live  chiefly 
to  receive  travelers  and  send  them  on  their  way,  whe- 
ther by  the  tram  to  Yumoto  and  Miyanoshita,  or  by 
kurunia  over  the  coast  road  to  the  hot  springs  of 
Atami,  twenty  miles  off.  There  is  a nice  little  inn 
close  to  the  station,  where  they  take  you  and  your 
possessions  in  cliarge,  and  buy  your  ticket  and  get 
your  checks,  if  you  will,  while  you  sit  comfortably 
waiting.  As  the  city  trains  arrive  about  noon  and 
there  is  all  the  mountain  yet  to  climb,  it  is  convenient 
to  brinof  luncli  alono;  and  take  it  at  this  little  station 
hotel ; you  may  have  a matted  room  upstairs,  or  one 
below  with  table  and  chairs,  and  you  can  borrow  their 
plates,  and  either  drink  their  pale  Japanese  tea  or  tell 
the  nesan  to  bring  a kettle  and  pour  hot  water  on 
your  own  leaves  in  her  teapot ; and  she  will  Avash  your 
knives  and  forks  and  spoons,  Avhich  the  prudent  trav- 
eler always  carries,  and  repack  everything  most  care- 
fully. At  the  end,  a few  coppers  for  her  when  she  has 
VoL.  II.— 3 


34 


JAPAN. 


carried  your  belongings  to  the  tram,  and  some  small 
sih’er  for  the  inn  as  tea-money,  makes  every  one  con- 
tented and  happy. 

Kodzu  station  stands  just  back  from  the  edge  of  a 
little  bluff  at  the  upper  end  of  Odawara  bay,  famed 
through  Japan  for  the  beauty  of  its  nine-mile  curve  of 
smooth  sand  and  the  great  pines  that  fringe  its  line  of 
dunes.  They  must  be  centuries  old,  those  pines,  and 
they  are  of  the  sort  that  delights  in  the  buffeting  of 
the  wet  sea  Avinds ; rugged  they  are,  it  Ls  true,  but  not 
beaten  back,  only  more  individual  and  picturesque  for 
the  lifelong  struggle.  Down  on  the  sand  the  long, 
narrow  bi’own  siimpans  are  draAvn  up  above  the  tide, 
and  the  nets  and  fish-baskets  are  piled  about;  and  under 
the  shadoAV  of  the  bluff  a party  of  kurumaya  are  usually 
found  smoking  and  gambling,  not  always  peaceably, 
for  these  coolies  of  Kodzu  are  a rather  rough  set. 

A wooded  promontory  finishes  the  cur\"e  of  the 
beach  at  its  farther  end,  and  looking  back  the  other 
way,  past  Oiso  and  its  groves  of  pine,  is  Enoshima, 
Benteii’s  island,  scarcely  seeming  to  detach  itself  from 
the  shore  behind.  Off  on  the  horizon,  a trail  of 
smoke  above  a faint  blue  line  marks  Oshima  and  its 
neA^er-quiet  A’olcano;  and  inland,  across  the  ojAen 
country,  there  is  a magnificent  aucav  of  Fuji,  looking, 
as  it  Avere,  OA’er  the  shoulders  of  the  foothills  of  the 
Ilakone  group;  you  see  the  white  cone  from  the  tram 
during  all  the  first  part  of  the  ride,  till  it  is  shut  out 

I 

by  the  nearing  mountains. 


MIYANOSPIITA. 


35 


Tlie  Kodzu-Yunioto  tram  is  a most  amusingly 
happy-go-lucky  and  irresponsible  sort  of  an  atfair.  I 
do  not  remember  which  American  car  company  built  its 
old-fashioned,  small,  low  cars,  but  they  are  exceed- 
ingly like  what  used  to  be  known  as  a “ bob-tailed 
car  ” in  our  own  part  of  the  world  a number  of  years 
since.  There  are  usually  several  of  them  lying  up, 
so  to  speak,  on  the  side  track  under  the  trees,  near  the 
station,  and  they  ajipear  to  start  whenever  they  feel 
inclined.  1 1 does  not  really  matter ; the  nesan  always 
knows  when  it  is  time  to  go  and  take  your  j)lace,  and 
there  is  no  connection  to  make  at  the  other  end.  They 
generally  start  otf  in  bunches  of  two  or  three,  each 
drawn  by  its  own  pair  of  shaggy  little  red  horses, 
which  gallop  otf  frantically,  bells  jangling,  windows 
rattling  and  car  bouncing  on  the  badly-laid  track,  the 
driver  shouting  them  on  with  great  enthusiasm.  Some 
cal’s  are  marked  first  and  others  second-class,  the  dif- 
ference being  aiiparently  one  of  empty  honor,  or  pos- 
sibly of  the  number  of  packages  per  passenger  per- 
mitted without  extra  charge. 

The  track  lies  along  the  old  Tokaido,  which  runs 
for  a long  way  just  behind  the  low  sand  dunes  and  the 
jiines,  its  own  avenue  of  evergreen  trees  still  standing, 
though  not  unbroken.  After  a time  the  pines  cea.se, 
and  you  begin  to  go  through  Odawara,  a forlorn,  ill- 
kept  town,  strung  out  for  a mile  or  more  along  the 
highway,  looking  as  if  it  ought  to  be  big  enough  and 
old  enough  to  make  itself  more  tidy,  though  it  may 


36 


JAPAN. 


very  probably  have  plea.sauter  parts  farther  back 
toward  the  lulls. 

In  the  midst  of  Odawara  the  tram  pulls  up  with  a 
jerk  aud  a jarring  of  brake.s;  the  second  edition 
behind  clatters  up  and  checks  likewise,  aud  conductor, 
driver  and  half  the  passengers  get  off  to  superintend 
changing  the  horses,  assisted,  as  the  French  would  .say, 
by  several  policemen  and  what  one  would  take  for  a 
quarter  of  the  population.  Just  here  by  the  tnim 
depot,  on  the  other  side  of  the  road,  rise  some  green 
terraces  aud  foundation  walls  built  of  great  blocks  of 
stone.  It  is  all  there  is  left  of  Odawara  Castle, 
formerly  one  of  the  strongest  fortresses  on  the  Tokaido, 
which  practically  controlled  the  gateway  of  the  Hakone 
pass.  It  belonged  to  a younger  branch  of  the  Hojo, 
the  family  of  Yoritomo’s  clever  wife,  Masako,  who, 
though  they  could  not  obtain  the  Shogunate,  yet  con- 
trived to  have  the  office  of  Regent  of  Kamakura 
handed  from  father  to  son  in  their  own  house ; and 
by  appointing  boy  Shoguns,  and  deposing  them  when 
they  grew  troublesome,  they  ruled  both  Kamakura 
and  Kyoto  for  several  generations — all  in  the  name 
of  the  unwilling  emperors. 

Yoritomo’s  dealings  with  his  future  father-in-law, 
Hojo  Tokimasa,  began  during  the  lifetime  of  Kiyo- 
mori,  the  Taira  chief  who  had  killed  Yoritomo’s 
father  and  nearly  all  his  hou.se.  Hojo  was  a retainer 
of  the  Taira,  but  his  family  had  been  often  allied  with 
the  IMinamoto,  and  when  forced  to  escape  from  a 


MIYANOSFIITA. 


37 


neighboring  lord  whom  he  had  offended,  Yoritomo 
took  refuge  with  his  family’s  former  friend.  He  was 
well  received,  and  presently  proposed  for  the  hand 
of  Hojo’s  daughter.  Now  there  were  two  daughters ; 
the  elder,  Masako,  was  more  beautiful  and  clever, 
but  the  younger  and  gentler  was  her  father’s  favorite, 
and  moreover,  the  only  child  of  the  second  wife,  and 
for  her  Yoritomo  intended  to  ask ; but  his  message 
was  altered  through  a mistake,  and  the  name  of  the 
elder  substituted.  Meanwhile,  on  the  previous  night 
the  younger  girl  had  dreamed  of  a bird  which  brought 
her  a little  golden  box.  She  told  the  dream  to  her 
sister  Masako,  who  offered  her  mirror  in  exchange 
for  the  dream ; and  the  younger  girl  accepted,  hoping 
therewitli  to  win  some  of  her  sister’s  beauty.  AVhen 
Yoritomo’s  request  followed  immediately  after,  Masako 
believed  the  gift  had  truly  come  to  her,  and  that  it 
was  the  will  of  the  gods. 

But  Hojo  had  already  betrothed  his  daughter  to  a 
neigliboring  lord,  and  the  ceremony  was  partly  accom- 
plished, when  on  the  very  wedding-day  Yoritomo 
stole  the  bride  away — doubtless  with  her  connivance, 
perhaps  with  her  father’s  also.  At  any  rate,  Hojo 
continued  to  help  him,  and  IMasako’s  clever  scheming 
is  credited  with  not  a little  of  their  final  success. 

After  Yoritomo’s  death,  such  a woman  was  not  to 
be  lightly  set  aside;  though  she  became  a nun,  it  was 
merely  for  the  sake  of  appearances,  and  in  point  of 
fact  she  was  the  power  behind  the  throne  for  many 


38 


JAPAN. 


years.  The  young  Shogun  resisted  her  ; he  was  killed 
in  his  bath  by  unknown  assassins ; and  when  the 
second  son  succeeded,  IMasako  made  him  powerless  by 
having  her  brother  apjjointed  Regent.  This  second 
Shogun  was  murdered,  on  his  way  to  worship  at  the 
shrine  of  Yoritomo  at  Kamakura,  by  a .son  of  that 
elder  brother  who  had  been  murdei’cd  in  the  bath ; 
and  the  guards  cut  down  the  youth  on  the  spot,  so 
ending  Yoritomo’s  line.  The  mm  and  the  Regent 
chose  a child  of  two  as  .successor  to  the  Shogunate ; 
the  Emperor  and  the  Kuge  nobles  tried  to  take  the 
opportunity  to  throw  off  the  yoke,  but  the  Ilojo  de- 
feated the  imperial  force.s,  depo.sed  the  Emperor,  and 
confiscated  the  estates  of  the  Kuge  wlio  had  fidcen 
part,  and  made  the  office  of  Regent  hereditary  in  the 
family. 

The  succeeding  rulers  were  able  and  successful ; 
order  was  maintained  and  the  country  prospered 
greatly.  But  their  usurpation  of  power  and  disloyal 
treatment  of  the  imperial  house  made  them  always 
disliked  and  distrusted ; and  the  Mongol  invasion  of 
Kublai  Khan  did  much  to  increase  their  unpopularity. 
It  was  then  that  the  ex-Emperor  Go-Daigo  plotted 
against  them,  was  defeated  and  exiled,  escaped,  and 
plotted  again,  and  that  finally  the  faithful  generals, 
Kitta  and  Masashige,  succeeded  in  taking  Kamakura 
and  overthrowing  the  Hojo — only  to  substitute  King 
Stork  for  King  Log,  the  Ashikaga  Shoguns  for  the 
Hojo  Regents.  However,  the  cadet  branch  of  Hojo 


MIYAXOSIIITA. 


39 


maintained  itself  at  Odawara,  and  remained  in  very 
considerable  po\ver  till  that  wonderful  monkey-faced 
adventurer,  the  Taiko  Hideyoslii,  conquered  them  in 
a great  battle.  Even  then  they  retired  to  the  castle 
and  shut  themselves  up,  disputing  among  the  council- 
ors of  the  clan  whether  to  wear  out  the  enemy  by 
remaining  still,  or  to  attempt  a sally — till  one  day, 
while  they  were  arguing,  the  Taiko  attackeel  and  took 
the  castle  from  their  hands.  Eut  it  was  not  destroyo<l 
then  ; that  was  done  only  in  18G8,  when  there  was  hot 
fighting  along  the  pass  between  the  Imperial  and  the 
Tokugawa  partisans,  and  the  castle  was  finally  demol- 
ished. The  small,  crowded  houses  and  poor  sur- 
roundings make  the  ruin  of  its  fine  walls  even  more 
imj)rcssive. 

I'liere  is  another  contrast  at  Odawara,  too,  if  you 
are  clever  enough  to  find  it — a most  charming  little 
inn,  standing  back  not  a block  behind  the  street,  but 
as  sheltered  and  still  in  its  walled  enclosure  as  if  it 
were  miles  from  another  habitation.  There  is  one 
main  building,  and  a half-circle  of  tiny  cottages  in  a 
pine  wood  looking  toward  the  bay,  which  is  only  a 
few  hundred  yards  off.  For  a yen  or  two  a day  you 
may  have  a thatched  houselet  of  two  or  three  rooms 
and  a bath,  furnished  with  spotless  tatami  and  a 
cushion  or  two,  and  a neat  nesiin  to  wait  on  you  and 
serve  your  rice — all  in  Japanese,  of  course,  for  the 
little  nest  wonld  not  long  be  so  pure  and  quiet  if 
many  foreign  residents  frequented  it. 


40 


JAPAN. 


Just  beyond  Odawara  the  tram  line  crosses  the 
Hayakawa,  the  river  which  drains  lake  Hakone,  and 
which,  like  all  Japanese  rivers,  has  an  immense  stony 
bed,  much  too  wide  for  it  to  occupy  except  in  flood 
time,  and  then  not  always  wide  enough.  The  farmers 
try  to  keep  it  out  of  mischief  by  banking  up  the 
sides  with  neat  rows  of  bamboo  baskets  filled  with 
stones — a contrivance  often  used  in  other  places  also. 

The  road  leaves  the  bay  now,  and  goes  straight 
away  towards  the  mountains,  which  come  down  sud- 
deidy,  almost  like  a wall,  into  the  plain.  The  river 
breaks  suddenly  from  a narrow  valley,  and  just  here 
is  Yumoto  village — the  end  of  the  tram  line,  huddling, 
as  it  were,  at  the  very  gate.  Just  beyond  Yumoto  a 
pretty  waterfall  comes  into  the  river,  which  is  already 
swift  and  like  a mountain  stream  in  the  deepening 
gorge ; a quarter  of  a mile  farther,  at  Tonozawa,  you 
cross  by  an  unsteady  bridge  to  the  left  bank,  and  keep 
it  all  the  rest  of  the  way.  Here  at  Tonozawa  there 
is  another  pleasant  little  inn,  a little  more  modernized 
than  the  Shoto-En  at  Odawara,  but  still  fresh,  quiet 
and  unspoiled.  It  has  one  of  the  amusing  contrasts 
of  new  Japan  in  its  electric  lights  from  the  large 
j)lant  on  the  river  near  by,  which  are  set  in  rooms 
guiltless  of  chairs  and  heated  by  hibachi.  It  is  only 
another  proof  that  Japan  can  and  will  adopt  what  she 
cares  for  in  our  Western  life,  and  leave  the  rest  un- 
touched. 

So  far  we  have  been  following  the  Tokaido ; here. 


MIYANOSHITA. 


41 


after  crossing  the  river,  the  highroad  kept  on  to  the 
left  and  climbed  straight  up  into  the  Hakone  pass. 
This  road  now  is  very  rough  and  almost  disused,  and 
the  newer  way  to  Miyanoshita  keeps  instead  along  the 
gorge  of  the  Hayakawa.  It  is  a beautiful  wooded 
valley,  cleft  almost  like  a V between  the  raoiuitains. 
In  May  it  is  like  a garden  of  azaleas  and  single  red 
and  white  camelias,  and  purple  bunches  of  Wistaria 
blossoms,  and  spireas  and  laburnums  and  scarlet  pirns 
Japonica — half  the  flowering  shrubs  of  an  American 
lawn,  flung  helter-skelter  up  and  down  the  hillsides. 
The  road  is  none  too  good,  and  it  is  a stiff  four- mile 
pull  for  the  kururaa  men,  who  toil  up  to  a sort  of 
grunting  chant — in-saka  hoi ! in-saka  hoi ! The 
wonder  is  that  they  have  any  breath  left  to  pull. 
When  it  comes  to  the  return  journey,  the  runners 
like  to  dash  down  headlong  at  a pace  that  is  not  only 
alarming,  but  actually  dangerous,  besides  shaking  you 
almost  to  pieces  over  the  rough  stones;  so  that  unless 
one  prefers  to  walk  and  be  rid  of  them  entirely,  it  is 
well  to  contract  beforeliand  that  they  shall  go  at  a 
walk  whenever  the  road  is  steep  or  rough,  under  ])en- 
alty  of  forfeiting  all  chance  of  chinsen  (“tip”)  at  the 
bottom.  Even  in  going  up,  when  the  weather  is  fine, 
it  is  not  too  far  for  a good  walker,  and  there  are  little 
paths  and  short  cuts  between  the  zigzags,  and  yon  can 
enjoy  the  flowers  and  the  changing  views  to  your 
heart’s  content. 

The  Fujiya  hotel  at  Miyanoshita  is  one  of  the  best 


42 


JAPAN. 


hotels  in  Japan,  if  it  is  not  the  very  best  of  all;  its  but- 
ter,  milk  and  fresh  fruit  and  vegetables  are  brought  from 
an  excellent  farm  in  the  Hakone  country,  and  every- 
thing about  it  is  clean  and  well  managed.  The  bath- 
ing arrangements  are  particularly  delightful ; there  is 
a big,  detached  bath-house,  containing  a dozen  or 
more  rooms,  each  with  a deep  wooden  tub  sunk  below 
the  level  of  the  slatted  floor,  the  favorite  Japanese 
arrangement.  Into  each  come  two  pipes  of  mountain 
water,  one  scalding  hot  and  the  other  as  deliciously 
cold,  and  you  may  draw  it,  and  waste  it,  and  paddle 
in  it  without  stint,  for  there  is  always  an  overflow 
from  the  springs  far  up  in  the  hills.  The  hot  water 
is  only  slightly  impregnated  with  sulphur,  and  any 
one  may  bathe  in  it  as  freely  as  in  any  ordinary  water, 
without  waiting  to  consult  physicians. 

The  Fujiya  stands  against  a steep  hillside,  facing 
directly  down  the  valley,  and  on  clear  days  across  the 
V-shaped  cleft  you  can  trace  the  faint  blue  horizon  of 
the  Pacific  beyond  Odawara  bay.  One  thinks  invol- 
untarily of  that  “ Vale  in  Ida 

“ Lovelier 

Than  all  the  valleys  of  Ionian  hills.” 

Here,  too, 

“ The  swimming  vapour  floats  athwart  the  glen, 

Puts  forth  an  arm,  and  creeps  from  pine  to  pine. 

And  loiters,  slowly  drawn.  On  either  hand 
The  lawns  and  meadow-ledges,  midway  down. 

Hang  rich  in  flowers,  and  far  below  them  roars 
The  long  brook,  falling  through  the  cloven  ravine 
In  cataract  after  cataract  to  the  sea.” 


MIYANOSHITA. 


43 


Miyanoshita  village  lies  partly  below  and  partly 
above  the  hotel,  and,  like  all  the  rest  in  this  region,  Ls 
given  over  to  the  making  and  selling  of  inlaid  boxes, 
frames,  toys,  and  every  other  conceivable  article  that  can 
be  made  of  wood.  INIany  of  the  things  are  exceedingly 
pretty,  but  it  is  Avell  to  remember  that  American  fiir- 
uace-heated  houses  are  apt  to  make  sad  work  of  the 
larger  pieces.  A peculiar  reddish,  mottled  effect,  seen 
in  some  of  the  wood,  is  obtained  by  cutting  it  in 
spring,  when  the  sap  is  in  tlie  trunks,  and  laying  it  out 
of  doors  all  summer;  the  sap  settles  in  spots  and  mil- 
dews, discoloring  the  grain  in  irregular  patches,  which 
come  out  effectively  when  the  wood  is  turned  and 
pi  Wished. 

There  are  two  or  three  other  little  villages  about, 
])icturcsque  enough  at  a distance,  but  really  poor  and 
tumble-down.  The  one  called  Kiga  is  a little  way  up 
the  road,  just  by  an  exceedingly  high  and  well-built 
bridge  across  the  ravine ; the  houses  hang  almost  over 
the  edge  of  the  cliff,  looking  as  if  a very  small  shake 
would  send  them  crashing  into  tlie  tree-tops  two  or 
tliree  Imndrcd  feet  below,  where  tlie  stream  calls  all 
night  and  the  uguisu — warblers — are  singing  all  day 
long.  A pi’etty  Jajianese  inn  is  perched  among  the 
little  houses  at  Kiga,  said  to  be  well  kejit  and  ])leasant. 

A dependence  of  the  Fujiya  stands  a little  below  the 
main  house,  overhanging  this  same  ravine ; it  used  to 
be  a separate  hotel — Xaraya’s — and  the  building  is 
still  known  by  the  old  name,  though  it  has  long  since 


44 


JAPAN. 


been  absorbed  by  the  larger  establishment.  ^lany  of 
the  rooms  are  exceedingly  pleasant,  especially  those 
which  are  on  the  ravine  side  among  the  warblers ; but 
in  other  ways  the  house  is  less  pleasant  to  stay  in. 
^Moreover,  in  showeiy  weather,  the  walk  to  one’s 
dinner  seems  considerable — across  the  village  street  by 
the  post-office,  where  blue-black  swallows  dart  over 
the  puddles,  and  all  up  the  steep  garden  of  the  main 
house. 

The  walks  around  Miyanoshita  are  uncommonly 
pretty,  and  there  are  j)lenty  of  easy  ones  for  tho.se  who 
cannot  climb  far.  There  is  Fujitai,  overlooking  the 
right  wing  of  the  hotel,  up  which  a narrow  path  winds 
in  steep  zigzags  for  some  six  hundred  feet,  giving  at 
last  a splendid  view  of  Fuji,  half-way  down  to  its 
base ; and  there  are  rambles  up  the  gorge  and  down, 
and  .straight  down  by  a path,  which  is  almost  a flight 
of  steps,  to  a pretty  waterfall  in  the  side  of  the  ravine, 
ju.st  a little  way  below  Xaraya’s.  Quite  at  the  bottom 
of  the  gorge,  below  this  waterfall,  is  the  forlorn  little 
village  called  Dogashima,  where  the  men  always  seem 
to  be  otf  cutting  wood  on  the  hills,  and  where  dirty 
beggar  children  follow  you  with  whining  cries,  pitched 
in  a shrill  crescendo — chisai  ch.abu-ch.abu  Jcudasai — 
“something  to  eat — a little  something  to  eat,  conde- 
scend !” 

Beyond  the  stream  and  up  over  the  hills  there  are 
beautiful  views  of  the  gorge  and  the  far-otf  blue  bay ; 
but  it  is  not  very  safe  to  wander  olf  there  without  a 


MIYANOSHITA. 


45 


guide,  or  at  least  a compass  and  a pretty  clear  knowl- 
edge of  the  lay  of  the  land ; the  narrow  footpaths 
Avind  and  fork  and  double  among  the  slopes,  and  in 
many  places  the  bamboo  grass  is  so  tall  that  for  long 
distances  you  cannot  see  over  it  to  get  your  bearings. 
A party  of  students  from  the  Xaval  School  in  Tokyo 
once  started  to  walk  up  from  Gotemba  to  Hakone,  and 
lost  their  way  among  these  moors ; they  roamed  about 
for  hours,  till  it  grew  quite  dark,  and  tliey  had  just 
made  up  their  minds  to  make  a niglit  of  it,  supperless 
and  without  blankets,  when  they  saw  a light  a long 
way  off,  and,  after  some  difficulty,  reached  the  stock- 
farm,  where  they  Avere  fed  and  set  on  the  right  road. 

For  a long  time  Miyanoshita  Avas  the  only  place  in 
these  mountains  Avhere  there  Avas  a foreign  hotel,  but 
now  several  of  the  bathing  places  provide  beds  and 
European  food,  more  or  less  good,  and  there  is  a capital 
liotel  at  Kowakidani,  scA'cn  liundrcd  feet  higher  up. 
Miyanoshita  is  very  lovely  in  the  early  summer  and 
autumn,  and  in  the  early  spring,  too,  and  eA’en  in  Avin- 
tcr,  on  account  of  its  sheltered  situation ; but,  for  the 
same  reason,  the  summer  is  undeniably  hot  and  close, 
and  Kowakidani,  the  -‘Valley  of  the  Little  Boiling,’’ 
is  A’ery  much  more  bracing. 

A charm  of  these  moors  in  summer  is  tlie  wonder- 
ful quantity  and  A-ariety  of  the  Avild  floAA'ers  ; from  the 
first  spring  A'iolets  and  irises  to  the  small  late  autumn 
chrysanthemums,  tlie  grass  is  full  of  them,  and  all  so 
like  our  Avild  floAA'ers  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  that  one 


46 


JAPAN. 


need  be  very  little  of  a botanist  to  pick  out  most  of 
the  sixty  genera  said  to  be  common  to  the  two  sides  of 
the  world. 

Japanese  art  and  poetry  takes  little  account  of  these 
wild  flowers;  the  only  ones  it  condescends  to  notice 
at  all  are  the  little  delicate  uncurling  fronds  of  fern, 
which  suggest  spring,  and  the  yellow  ranunculus  which 
pushes  up  before  the  leaves  come  out,  and  which  they 
call  fukujiso — flower  of  happiness;  and  the  ‘‘seven 
flowers  of  autumn,”  which  may  really  be  accounted 
favorites  with  the  painters,  at  least.  They  are  the 
eupatorium,  a little  like  our  boneset ; the  wild  pink, 
wild  convolvulus,  hagi,  a graceful  bush,  with  small 
purple  papilionaceous  flowers ; the  tall,  feathery  knot- 
grass, called  Suzuki ; a purple  flower,  which  I believe 
is  pueraria,  and  the  delicate  yellow  umbelliferous 
patrina.  These  are  the  special  flowers  for  the  month 
of  September,  and,  like  our  own  golden  rod,  are  asso- 
ciated with  thoughts  of  the  turning  year,  and  at  the 
same  time  they  bear  suggestions  of  solitude.  It  is 
proper  to  depict  with  them  wild  horses,  or  deer,  or 
the  wild  boar. 

One  other  flower,  often  grown  in  their  gardens  as 
well  as  ours,  is  nevertheless  considered  to  be  a wild 
plant — the  deep  yellow  cocorus,  which  they  call 
yamahuki  and  “ mountain  rose.”  At  any  rate,  it  has 
a wild-flower  story,  which  concerns  Ota  Dokwan,  the 
founder  of  Yedo  and  builder  of  the  first  castle  there. 
This  knight  was  one  day  out  hunting  in  the  hilly 


MIYANOSillTA. 


47 


region  near  bis  new  fortress,  when  he  was  caught  in  a 
smart  sho\ver,  and,  seeing  a cottage,  he  went  to  the 
door  and  asked  for  a straw  rain-coat — such  as  peas- 
ants wear  now  and  knights  used  to  put  on  for  jour- 
neys afoot,  or  hunting  expeditious.  The  pretty  girl 
who  received  him  listened  and  bowed,  but  said  no 
word ; then  she  ran  away,  and  presently  came  back, 
blushing,  and  handed  him  no  coat,  but  only  a yellow 
yamabuki  flower.  Decidedly  disgusted.  Sir  Ota 
walked  off  in  the  rain,  and  not  till  he  was  half-way 
home  did  he  remember  a poem  by  a famous  poet, 
“ The  yellow  mountain  rose  has  many  pretty  petals, 
but  alas,  it  has  no  seed.”  Now  mino  is  a seed,  and  mino 
is  also  a straw  rain-cOat,  and  the  young  man  perceived 
that,  like  a true  daughter  of  Japan,  his  pretty  wood- 
nymph  had  expressed  both  her  refusal  and  her  regret 
in  a poetic  pun. 


CHAPTER  III. 


HAKONE  AND  ATAMI. 

Miyanoshita  is  situated  in  what  is  knoYTi  as  the 
“ Hakone  district,”  which  is  a general  name  to  include 
all  the  heaped-up  mass  of  mountains  lying  at  the  base 
of  the  Izu  peninsula,  between  the  ‘‘skirts”  of  Fuji 
San  and  the  sea.  There  is  one  little  village  called 
Hakone  on  the  side  of  the  Hakone  lake,  or,  rather, 
two  little  villages  of  the  same  name  and  close  together. 
The  lake  lies  over  the  passes  towards  Fuji,  a thousand 
feet  higher  than  Miyanoshita,  and  the  Tokaido  came 
over  by  it  on  the  way  down  to  the  })laiu.  The  old 
name  of  the  lake  was  Ashi-no-Umi,  Sea  of  Reeds, 
which  does  not  seem  remarkably  well  suited  to  a deep 
body  of  water,  surrounded  as  this  is  by  high  hills  and 
shores  nearly  everywhere  rocky  and  steep.  But  the 
old  name  is  still  used  in  poetry,  much  as  Byron  talked 
of  “ clear,  placid  Leman,”  lying  beside  Chillon’s 
walls. 

In  summer  lake  Hakone  is  much  cooler  than  Miya- 
noshita, and  many  foreigners  come  up  from  A"oko- 
hama  and  Tokyo  to  stay  there,  but,  rather  strangely, 
there  is  no  European  hotel  ; only  a pretty  little  tea- 

48 


HAKONE  AND  ATAMI. 


49 


house  overlooking  the  lake,  very  pleasant  for  rest  and 
lunch  in  the  course  of  a day’s  excursion,  but  not  very 
comfortable  to  stay  in  long.  What  the  people  do  is  to 
rent  cottages  in  the  village,  and  bring  up  servants  and 
such  household  goods  as  are  absolutely  necessary',  and 
keep  house  for  a few  months  in  a more  or  less  free 
and  easy  fashion.  The  boating  on  the  lake  is  a great 
attraction,  and  the  walks  and  longer  excursions  are 
very  delightful. 

The  easiest  way  of  getting  to  lake  Hakone  is  by 
going  to  Miyanoshita  and  spending  the  night  there, 
and  going  on  over  the  hills  next  day ; but  it  is  shorter 
and  quite  possible  to  go  by  kuruma  from  Yumoto 
directly  over  the  old  Tokaido  and  the  Hakone  pass, 
though  the  road  is  rougher  than  the  Miyanoshita  way 
and  less  apt  to  be  prom])tly  repaired  after  a storm, 
and  the  ride  is  longer.  From  Miyanoshita  to  Hakone 
there  is  only  a footpath  over  the  moors,  and  all  who 
are  not  prepared  to  Avalk  the  eight  miles  must  be 
carried  in  chairs  or  kago. 

Xow  the  chairs  are  all  very  well ; they  are  like 
Swiss  ones,  or  the  kind  used  by  everybody  in  Hong 
Kong — an  ordinary  wicker  arm-chair  slung  on  bamboo 
poles  ; and  you  are  merely  warned  to  sit  still,  for  fear 
of  overbalancing  the  men,  who  carry  high,  with  the 
poles  on  their  shoulders.  But  about  the  charms  of 
kago  riding  there  is  diversity  of  opinion.  Some 
maintain  that  whereas  the  kago  in  use  at  Miyanoshita 
are  higher  and  longer  than  the  common  kind  found 
VoL.  II.— 4 


50 


JAPAN. 


elsewhere,  even  a European  can  curl  up  a little  and 
lie  on  the  cu.shions  comfortably,  not  to  say  luxuriously  ; 
but  others  call  it  an  instrument  of  torture  and  will 
have  none  of  it.  The  thing  is  simply  a ver}’  short 
litter,  with  a low  roof,  slung  on  a bamboo  pole ; the 
bearers  take  each  an  end  on  his  shoulder  and  a long 
staff  in  his  hand,  and  trot  off  at  a good  speed  with  a 
fairly  pleasant  motion.  In  old  times  kago  were  the 
only  mode  of  conveyance  except  the  ox-cars  of  the 
nobles — the  closed  norimon  being  only  another  and 
more  luxurious  form — and  it  was  the  large  Iwdy  of 
trained  kago  bearers  who  made  the  jinrikisha  jiossible ; 
as  soon  as  the  little  carriage  was  invented  they  simply 
dropped  the  pole  and  picked  up  the  shafts,  and  went 
on  running  without  any  real  change  in  their  manner 
of  life. 

The  path  to  Hakone  starts  up  through  the  woods, 
then  out  over  a rolling  moor  covered  witli  coarse  grass 
and  innumerable  field  flowers — violets,  orchids,  blue- 
bells, buttercups  and  lilies — or  dense  thickets  of  wild 
bamboo  higher  than  a man’s  head.  The  moor  is  really 
a pa.s.s,  reaching  three  thousand  feet  at  the  highest 
point,  where  you  turn  from  the  path  a little  and  climb 
the  hill  called  Benten  Yama,  to  look  over  all  the  Izu 
peninsula  and  even  to  Yedo  bay.  The  village  of 
Ashi-no-yu  lies  in  a rather  steamy  hollow  just  below, 
])robably  an  extinct  volcano — yu,  “ hot  water,”  because 
of  the  sulphur  springs,  and  ashi,  reeds — a name 
which  seems  much  more  appropriate  here  than  at 


HAKONE  AND  ATAMI. 


51 


Hakone,  because  the  springs  really  do  come  from  a 
swampy  part  of  the  hollow.  The  water  here  is  much 
more  heavily  charged  with  sulphur  thau  at  Miyano- 
shita,  and  many  invalids  come  to  take  the  baths  for 
rheumatism  and  such  things;  one  of  the  hotels  gives 
very  fair  Eluropean  accommodation.  Ashi-no-yu  lies 
higher  than  any  of  the  rest  of  the  resorts  in  the 
Hakone  region,  nearly  three  thousand  feet  in  all,  and 
is  consequently  cooler  even  than  the  lake;  but  the  air 
is  a[)t  to  be  less  pleasant,  because  the  moisture  from 
the  springs  seeiUs  to  hang  in  the  air  and  seldom  rises 
fully  over  the  edge  of  the  hollow  in  which  it  lies. 
This  high,  rolling,  treeless  region  is  often  compared  to 
the  English  lake  country,  and  it  is  really  strikingly 
like  the  wilder  and  more  desolate  parts,  say  toward 
Buttcrmerc  and  on  some  of  the  passes. 

ETom  hei’e  the  bearers  swing  along  at  an  easy  trot 
over  another  two  or  three  miles  of  rolling  moor,  nearly 
all  gently  down  hill,  towards  the  lake.  There  are 
two  little  pools  on  the  way,  hardly  worthy  of  the 
name  of  lakes,  each  filling  the  crater  of  an  extinct 
volcano — more  reminders  of  the  way  things  have 
been  made,  which  make  one  feel  as  if  Japan  had  been 
occupied  before  it  was  altogether  finished,  geologically 
speaking,  as  people  go  into  a new  house  before  the 
carpenters  are  quite  out  of  it,  taking  their  chances  of 
pitfiills  and  fresh  paint. 

Near  the  path  there  are  a few  little  shrines  and 
monuments,  and  especially  a fine  image  of  Jizo,  friend 


52 


JAPAN. 


of  travelers  and  protector  of  little  children ; it  is  life- 
sized,  and  carved  in  high  relief  out  of  the  gray  rock 
against  which  he  sits.  Tradition  attributes  both  this 
and  another  work,  a rock-cut  group  of  Buddhist  .saints, 
to  that  wonderful  artist-prie.st.  Kobo  Daishi,  of  the 
eiglith  century ; but  it  is  nearly  certain  that  both 
belong  to  the  latter  part  of  the  thirteenth — the  cen- 
tury of  the  Kamakura  Daibutsu,  which  the  Jizo 
greatly  resembles  in  general  style. 

His  lap  is  always  piled  full  of  pebble.s,  laid  there 
by  bereaved  mothers,  who  pray  the  compassionate  god 
to  help  their  little  ones  in  the  other  world.  For  they 
say  that  the  spirits  of  little  children  wander  forlornly 
in  the  dry  bed  of  the  River  of  Souls,  crying  after 
father  and  mother,  and  heaping  little  prayer-towers  of 
the  stones  in  the  bed  of  the  river  ; and  wicked  demons 
come  and  frighten  the  children,  and  throw  down  their 
piles  of  stones.  But  Jizo  comes  and  drives  away  the 
bad  demons,  and  the  children  run  and  hide  themselves 
in  his  sleeves,  and  he  comforts  them  and  helps  them 
to  build  their  towers  up  again. 

Suddenly  the  lake  appears  below  in  a nest  of  hills, 
and  the  path  drops  steeply  to  it,  meeting  the  Tokaido 
at  the  first  little  village,  which  is  called  Moto  Hakone. 
Here  is  the  iMatsuzakiya  inn,  looking  out  over  the 
lake  and  its  picturesque  windings,  and  over  to  the  far 
hills,  which  are  all  wooded  with  pines  and  beautiful 
deciduous  trees,  making  a variety  of  tints  in  the  foli- 
age, even  when  all  are  green  with  the  full  summer. 


IIAKONE  AND  ATAMI. 


53 


From  the  inn  there  is  a fine  view  of  Hakone’s  greatest 
boast,  Hakone  no  saka  Fuji,  the  pure  white  cone  of 
Fuji  rising  above  the  nearer  mountains  which  conceal 
its  base,  and  reflecting  in  the  blue  water  of  the  lake. 
It  must  be  just  the  right  weather  to  see  tliis — the  still 
maple  weather  of  October  or  November,  when  the  sky 
is  clear  and  there  is  no  wind  to  break  the  image  on 
the  smooth  surface.  Perched  on  the  cliff  a little 
farther  on  there  is  a summer  palace  where  the  Crown 
Prince  often  stays,  and  beyond  this,  the  second  and 
rather  larger  village,  where  most  of  the  foreigners 
spend  the  summer. 

All  about  this  part  of  the  shore  there  are  tokens  of 
the  past ; a fine  stone  torii  stands  across  the  road  near 
the  village,  flanked  by  two  weather-worn  stone  lan- 
terns, and  up  the  steep  hillside  another  torii,  of  wood 
and  colored  red,  marks  one  of  Yoritomo’s  haunts 
when  he  used  to  come  here  hunting ; in  a shed  close 
by  they  show  the  iron  pots  in  which  tradition  says  the 
rice  was  boiled  for  his  camping  parties,  and  in  another 
place  his  sword  and  other  relics.  A village  in  the 
plain  below  is  still  called  Gotemba,  the  August  Camp. 

Another  shrine  a little  farther  up  is  dedicated  to  the 
Soga  brothers,  whose  small  stone  monuments  are  beside 
the  path  on  the  way  from  Ashi-no-yu  ; and  whose  vir- 
tue was  that  they  fulfilled  the  law  of  Confucius,  which 
said,  “Thou  shalt  not  live  under  the  same  heaven 
with  the  slayer  of  thy  father.”  It  must  be  remem- 
"bered  that  when  a Samurai  paid  such  pious  debts,  he 


54 


JAPAN. 


did  it  knowing  that  his  life  was  inevitably  forfeit, 
whether  his  attempt  was  successful  or  not.  The  civil 
law  said,  “ Thou  shalt  do  no  murder the  Samurai 
broke  the  civil  to  keep  the  moral  law,  and  bent  to  the 
punishment. 

“ On  the  28th  of  May  in  the  fourth  year  of  Kenkiu 
(1293),”  says  a Japanese  chronicle,  “the  Shogun 
Yoritomo  ordered  a great  hunting  expedition  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Fuji.  The  two  orphan  sons  of  Kawazu 
Sukeyasu,  Soga  Juro  and  Soga  Goro,  thought  to  profit 
by  this  occasion  to  avenge  their  father,  by  slaying  his 
murderer,  the  Lord  Kudo.  Therefore,  watching  for  a 
favorable  moment,  they  appeared  at  the  chase  with 
the  rest. 

“ Now  about  noon  of  this  day  rain  began  to  fall,  and 
the  chase  was  suspended,  every  man  retiring  to  his  own 
shelter  and  amusing  himself  as  best  he  could.  So  Lord 
Kudo  sent  for  dancers,  that  he  might  make  a fea.st  and 
entertain  his  friends.  And  going  out  for  some  pur- 
pose, he  found  at  his  door  Soga  Juro,  who  had  come 
to  spy  out  the  position  of  Kudo’s  camp.  Therefore 
he  asked  the  young  man  to  enter,  and  offered  him  a 
cup  of  wine,  and  spoke  plausibly,  saying  that  it  Avas 
not  he  but  another  who  had  done  to  death  the  father 
of  Soga.  And  Soga  Juro  feigned  to  believe  him,  and  .sat 
and  drank  wine  with  Lord  Kudo  and  his  son ; and  after- 
wards he  excused  himself  and  w’ent  away.  And  Kudo 
saw  that  he  was  no  mean  man,  and  he  set  guards  about 
his  camp,  for  he  knew  that  the  youth  was  not  deceived.” 


HAKOXE  AND  ATAMI. 


55 


Meanwhile  the  younger  brother  waited  with  the  re- 
tainers at  an  inn,  and  when  Juro  returned  they  com- 
pleted their  preparations,  meaning  to  act  that  night ; 
for  they  were  helped  by  one  Tora  Gozen,  a beautiful 
girl  from  the  town  of  Oiso,  who  had  given  her  heart 
to  the  younger  brother.  She  it  was  who  got  into 
Kudo’s  camp  in  disguise,  and  opened  the  door  for  the 
brothers,  so  that  they  entered  and  killed  their  enemy 
before  the  guards  were  aroused.  Then,  when  a baud 
of  knights  sprang  out  upon  them,  they  cried  their 
names  and  station,  as  Samurai  should,  and  fought 
bravely,  till  the  elder  was  killed  and  the  younger  over- 
powered and  taken  before  Yoritomo.  There  the 
young  man  calmly  related  what  they  had  done,  and 
why,  adding  that  it  had  been  part  of  their  intention  to 
slay  Miuamoto  no  Yoritomo  himself,  as  the  enemy  of 
their  grandfather.  Yoritomo,  who  loved  bravery 
above  all  things,  would  gladly  have  spared  the  out- 
spoken youth,  but  he  had  no  choice  but  to  condemn 
him  by  the  laws  he  himself  had  made.  The  two 
brothers  were  buried  together  on  the  mountain,  and  a 
third  monument  is  raised  to  the  beautiful  Tora,  who, 
when  her  lover  was  jnit  to  death,  cut  her  hair  and  be- 
came a nun,  spending  her  life  in  prayers  for  Goro’s 
soul. 

The  story  has  been  powerfully  dramatized  — the 
secret  preparations,  the  firewells  and  last  charges  to 
the  faithful  retainers,  who  pray  in  vain  to  share ; the 
night  attack  and  the  great  fight,  which,  on  the  stage, 


56 


JAPAN. 


becomes  a series  of  wonderful  rhythmic  poses,  only  one 
step  removed  from  those  historical  No  dances  from 
which  the  Japanese  drama  sprang;  all  leading  up  to 
the  closing  scene,  when  Yoritomo  sits  in  judgment  in 
tlie  hunting  camp,  and  the  head  of  the  elder  brother  is 
brought  in  and  laid  before  the  younger,  and  the  boy, 
already  on  his  way  to  execution,  makes  the  gray  thing 
a Samurai’s  farewell.  As  Danjuro  renders  the  part, 
the  one  moment  of  overmastering  emotion,  instantly 
suppressed,  is  not  only  intensely  Japanese  in  feeling, 
but  a masterpiece  of  suggestive  acting. 

A prettier  bit  of  history  belongs  on  the  post  road 
just  beyond  the  other  village,  where  a few  foundation 
stones  mark  the  site  of  the  famous  barrier  on  the  Ha- 
kone  pass,  the  point  at  which,  till  a generation  ago, 
every  one  was  carefully  examined  before  being  allowed 
to  approach  Yedo.  Here  then  Yoritomo  thought  to 
catch  his  fugitive  brother  Yoshitsune,  Avho  Avas  known 
to  be  escaping  nortliAvard  in  disguise,  Avith  a fcA\’  fol- 
loAvers  and  his  faithful  henchman  Benkei,  ex-temple- 
porter  and  all-round  scamp ; and  the  guards  had 
orders  of  the  strictest  to  let  no  suspicious  persons  by. 
Therefore  Avdien  a party  of  Y^amabushi  (begging  monks) 
one  day  appeared,  headed  by  a tall  felloAV  none  too 
monastic  looking,  the  captain  AA^as  for  giA'ing  them  all 
in  charge.  Monks,  forsooth ! he  declared,  they  Avere  no 
Yamabushi,  but  knights  in  disguise;  if  they  AA'ere 
begging  for  their  order,  AA'hat  credentials  had  they? 
What,  indeed?  Without  the  slightest  hesitation  Ben- 


HAKONE  AND  ATAMI. 


57 


kei,  the  audacious,  plucks  out  a roll — now  may  these 
men  of  the  sword  be  bravely  nnlearned  ! — and  in  de- 
voutest  sing-song  intones  a lengthy  ATtryincAo,  or  Bud- 
dhist contribution  register,  beautifully  conceived  and 
worded,  evolved  upon  the  instant  from  his  own  fertile 
brain ; an  exhortation  to  all  pious  persons  to  give  ac- 
cording to  their  ability  for  the  rebuilding  of  a certain 
temple. 

“ The  Emperor  Shomu  had  a wife,  to  whom  he  gave 
his  whole  heart ; and  when  she  departed  from  this 
world  he  caused  a temple  to  be  built  on  the  spot  where 
she  died.  Some  time  later  this  temple  was  burnt 
down ; in  order  to  rebuild  it  contributions  are  asked. 
Those  who  contribute  even  a penny  shall  enjoy  perfect 
peace  in  this  world,  and  shall  sit  upon  thousands  of 
lotus  leaves  in  the  world  to  come.* 

The  company  listen  reverently;  it  is  enough,  quite 
enough,  declares  the  captain  ; the  good  priest  must 
pardon  the  erring  zeal  of  an  ignorant  soldier ; only — 
there  is  one  young  fellow  in  the  company,  who  does 
look  strangely  like  the  man  they  are  after;  perhaps  it 
may  be  well  to  detain  him  for  a little.  This  will  never 
do ! Round  turns  Benkei,  and  deals  his  master  a 
sounding  thwack,  crying,  Down  on  your  knees,  you 
lout ; don’t  yon  know  any  better  than  to  stand  gaping 
at  the  gentleman?”  And  then  to  the  captain,  “Par- 
don, honorable;  shall  I kill  the  stupid?  In  truth  it 
is  but  a lump  just  from  the  rice-fields,  and  knows  no 

* “ Benkei,  the  Quick-witted  Loyalist."  Translated  by  Y.  NegishL 


58 


JAPAN. 


better.”  And  so  they  pa.ss  safely  by,  only  to  die  in  the 
north ; but  history  negleets  to  mention  what  beeame 
of  that  captain  when  the  story  came  to  Yoritomo’s  ears. 

Ju.st  as  he  was,  save  in  his  dealings  with  his  brother, 
Yoritomo  cannot  have  been  a plea.sant  person  to  meet 
in  anger.  In  effigies  and  records  he  appears  as  a tall, 
spare  man,  with  piercing  eyes,  and  thin  lips  under  a 
small  moustache.  When  he  could  not  be  fighting,  he 
loved  to  go  hunting,  on  horseback,  with  his  favorite 
hawk  on  his  wrist,  and  surrounded  by  the  gentlemen 
whom  he  thus  encouraged  to  hardy  pastimes.  These 
mouutaius,  but  a few  miles  from  his  capital  at  Kama- 
kui'a,  must  have  been  the  delight  of  such  a prince ; 
the  wild  boar  and  the  bears  are  gone  now,  and  even 
the  monkeys  and  deer,  but  there  are  miles  and  miles 
of  moor  and  forest,  uncleared  and  unplanted  even  yet. 

There  is  another  way  back  from  Hakone  to  Miyan- 
oshita,  which  bears  the  rather  startling  name  of  Oji- 
goku,  the  Big  Hell ; or,  if  you  prefer,  Owakidani, 
Valley  of  the  Great  Boiling.  The  place  deserves  an 
emphatic  name ; it  is  what  the  Italians  call  a solfa- 
tara,  a place  less  violent  than  a volcano,  but  of  the  same 
nature.  It  is  a rather  narrow,  open  valley,  perhaps 
a half  mile  long,  filled  from  end  to  end  with  scalding 
springs  and  outbursts  of  sulphurous  smoke,  like  Yel- 
lowstone Park  in  miniature ; a place  rather  unpleas- 
antly suggestive,  in  this  shaky  country,  which  seems 
to  have  such  a thin  crust  at  the  best.  The  valley  is 
reached  from  Hakone  bv  taking  a boat  to  the  other 


HAKONE  AND  ATAMI. 


59 


end  of  the  lake — they  put  in  chairs  or  kago  and  all — 
and  then  following  a steep  path  a mile  or  so  through 
a mossy  wood,  which  ends  as  suddenly  as  if  it  had 
been  cut  off  at  the  top  of  the  solfatara.  Looking  back 
from  this  point,  there  is  a beautiful  view  of  Fuji  San 
and  the  nearer  mountains,  making  the  keenest  of  con- 
trasts with  the  dreary  inferno  at  your  feet.  However 
fine  the  day  may  be  outside,  a whirl  of  steam  and 
smoke  always  sweeps  through  the  valley  from  end  to 
end,  half-hiding,  lialf-showing  the  ghastly  expanse  of 
lumpy  gray  and  yellow  mud  through  which  a slippery 
ridge  of  a path  winds  down.  You  marvel  why  there 
should  be  so  well  trodden  a track  throu<rh  such  a 
])lace,  till  you  see  a party  of  laborers  following  along 
it  in  single  file,  carrying  loads  of  sulphur,  which  has 
been  deposited  by  the  water  and  steam.  The  reek  is 
horrible,  and  the  trees  and  blossoming  shrubs,  creep- 
ing to  the  very  edge,  make  the  desolation  only  the 
more  complete  ; one  hardly  needs  the  warning  not  to 
venture  from  the  path  onto  the  treacherous  crust.  It 
is  a relief  to  climb  out  into  the  safe  woods,  and  jwes- 
ently  enter  the  litters  again  and  be  carried  at  a swing- 
ing trot  over  the  long  home-stretch  of  grassy  moor 
back  to  Miyanoshita. 

From  Hakone  lake  three  chief  roads  cro  down — 

o 

none  of  them  fit  for  anything  but  men’s  feet.  They 
are  the  old  Tokaido,  to  INIishima  and  the  coast ; the 
Ten  Province  pass,  with  its  wonderful  sweep  of  view, 
leading  down  to  the  sheltered  hot  springs  of  Atami,  on 


60 


JAPAN. 


Sagami  bay ; and  the  Maiden’s  pass,  Otomo  Toge, 
from  the  farther  end  of  the  lake  to  Gotemba,  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Fuji.  People  coming  to  Miyano.shita 
from  Kobe  and  other  southern  points,  often  get  off  at 
Gotemba  and  ride  by  kuruma  nearly  to  the  top  of  the 
INIaiden’s  pass,  and  walk  or  take  chairs  the  rest  of  the 
way.  The  fine  cattle  farm  at  Sengokuhara  lies  to  the 
left,  soon  after  crossing  the  summit,  between  the 
mountains  and  the  valley  of  the  Ilayakawa,  which 
you  follow  the  rest  of  the  way  back  to  Miyanoshita, 
much  as  in  returning  from  the  Ojigoku.  To  reach 
Hakone  from  the  Maiden’s  pass,  it  Ls  needful  to  turn 
off  at  the  farm  and  follow  a rough  trail  to  the  end  of 
the  lake. 

From  the  Gotemba  side  the  view  of  Fuji  is  un- 
broken. You  see  the  whole  green  plain  between  the 
Hakone  side  and  the  base  of  the  great  mountain,  and 
the  perfect  cone  sweeping  up  its  twelve  thousand  three 
hundred  and  ninety -five  feet,  flanked  at  a respectful 
distance  by  Ashitakayama  to  the  left  and  the  spurs  of 
Oyama  to  the  right,  while  far  around  to  the  south 
there  is  a glimpse  of  the  blue  Suruga  bay. 

The  Ten  Province  pass,  as  its  name  suggests,  over- 
looks the  whole  region  round  about,  from  Tokyo  and 
the  Musashi  plain  all  along  the  coast  and  past  the 
rocky  Izu  peninsula  to  Suruga  bay,  and  across  to 
Fuji  and  the  Koshu  mountains  behind.  The  Taiko 
Hideyoshi  left  his  mark  upon  this  part  of  the  region, 
in  the  name  of  the  mountain  called  Taiko-yama,  which 


*■ 

I • I ■ 


i"  r 

I 


a 


r 

V 


HAKONE  AND  ATAMI. 


61 


is  part  of  the  ridge  lying  behind  Hakoue  village,  and 
completing  the  circle  of  mountains  on  its  southeastern 
side.  Here,  they  say,  Hideyoshi  marched  over,  when 
he  assembled  his  army  to  attack  the  Hojo  at  Odawara. 
The  Hakone  pass  was  held  against  him,  but  a hunter 
showed  a pass  across  the  wall  of  mountains,  and  the 
Taiko  went  over  and  reached  the  slope  of  Ishikake- 
yama,  which  is  next  to  the  Sagami  plain,  and  won 
there  a decisive  battle. 

From  the  Ten  Province  Stone,”  at  the  top  of  the 
pass,  it  is  a steep  descent  of  .;d)out  three  miles  to 
Sagami  bay  and  the  clilf  road,  which  follows  all  along 
the  coast  from  one  little  village  to  another;  and  just 
here,  where  the  two  meet,  is  the  little  village  of  Atami, 
built  about  its  famous  geyser.  Hot  .springs  are  plenty 
enough  in  Japan — there  must  be  scores  in  this  Hakone 
region  alone ; but  gey.sers  are  not  at  all  common,  and 
this  one  is  accounted  a great  curiosity,  as  w^ell  as  most 
beneficial  to  the  sick.  A remarkable  feature  of  it  is 
the  situation — almost  on  the  beach.  The  water  con- 
tains a good  deal  of  salt,  and  even  the  steam  is  per- 
ceptibly salty.  They  have  built  a house  arouud  the 
spring  now,  .so  that  invalids  may  inhale  the  steam, 
which  is  found  to  be  very  helpful  to  the  throat  and 
lungs. 

There  are  plenty  of  good  hotels  at  Atami,  one  at 
least  furnishing  fluropean  accommodation ; but  tour- 
i.sts  seldom  find  their  way  here,  perhaps  because  it  is 
rather  out  of  the  way.  The  most  convenient  road  is 


62 


JAPAN. 


not  by  Hakone  and  the  pass,  but  from  Odawara  by  a 
curious  combination  of  tram  and  jinrikisha — a series 
of  small,  roofed  band-cars,  pushed  by  men  along  a 
narrow  railroad.  As  the  line  is  not  much  graded, 
when  it  was  first  opened  the  men’s  carele.ssness  caused 
a number  of  accidents;  but  the  authorities  required 
improvements,  and  it  seems  to  be  safe  enough  now. 
This  “ Riviera  of  Japan,”  as  Chamberlain  calls  it,  is 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  parts  of  the  coast ; to  the 
right  are  the  mountains,  .sending  down  little  spurs 
which  break  the  shqre  into  picturesque  nooks  and 
coves,  and  on  the  left  the  deep  blue  of  the  bay;  and 
all  about  the  rich  vegetation,  the  palms  and  the  orange 
groves  and  dajihnes,  which  flourish  in  the  soft  air. 
The  mountains  keep  off  all  but  the  warm  sea-winds 
from  the  “ Black  Current,”  and  Atami  knows  even 
less  about  winter  than  Nice  or  Mentone. 

Besides  the  pleasant  Japanese  visitors  who  frequent 
Atami  for  their  health,  the  villages  near  by  are  pic- 
turesque and  entertaining,  especially  when  a school  of 
bonito  comes  in  and  a keen-sighted  man  stands  high 
on  the  cliff,  where  he  can  see  the  dark  mass  of  fish 
through  the  clear  vater,  and  signals  to  the  fleet  of 
little  boats  which  way  to  go.  There  are  many  attrac- 
tive walks,  both  along  the  shore  and  inland,  and  the 
flowers  on  the  hills  in  early  spring  remind  one  afresh 
of  northern  Italy. 

Near  the  geyser  there  is  a villa  belonging  to  the 
Crown  Prince,  where  he  was  often  sent  for  part  of 


HAKONE  AND  ATAMI. 


63 


the  winter  during  his  childhood,  for  the  sake  of  the 
warm,  sheltered  climate.  He  has  been  a delicate  boy, 
but  happily  seems  to  be  much  stronger  since  he  has 
grown  up.  A photograph  taken  when  he  was  about 
nine  years  old  shows  a thoughtful,  sensitive  little  face, 
rather  overpowered  by  the  big  military  cap  which  he 
wore  as  a pupil  of  the  Noble’s  School.  The  well-cut 
chin,  and  firm,  sweet  mouth,  promise  well  for  the 
future  of  the  nation.  Visitors  at  Atarai  used  to  tell 
pretty  stories  of  his  activity  and  sprightliness  and  his 
eager  curiosity  about  everything  new  ; he  particularly 
wanted  to  know  exactly  why  the  water  lay  quiet  for 
just  four  hours,  and  then  ran  half  an  hour  and  sub- 
sided again,  until  time  for  another  outbui’st.  There 
are  pleasant  accounts,  too,  from  those  around  him  of 
his  thoughtfulness  and  winning  disposition,  and  his 
warm  friendships  with  his  companions  and  teachers ; 
and,  just  now,  of  the  pretty  little  princess,  whom  he 
married  a couple  of  years  ago.  The  young  couple 
drive  out  together  quite  frequently — something  the 
Emperor  and  Empress  do  only  on  rare  and  important 
occasions — and  in  other  respects  conduct  their  house- 
hold much  as  European  royalties  might  do. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  TOKAIDO. 


“ Toward  the  far  northern  land 
Wild  geese  are  flying, 

’Mid  their  sky  journeyings 
Mournfully  crying. 

Ah ! It  must  be  that  sore 
Is  their  fond  yearning 
For  one  that  hither  came, 

Now  unreturning; 

Here  on  this  alien  shore 
Lost  to  them  evermore ! ” 

“ Log  of  a Japanese  Journey  ” (Tosa  Nikki).  Translated  by  Mrs. 
Harris. 


The  same  glamor  of  romantic  association  that 
gathers  for  us  around  the  Appian  Way  and  the  passes 
over  the  Alps,  or  the  old  Roman  roads  in  England, 
clings  for  a Japanese  to  each  mile  of  his  Tokaido,  the 
scene  of  so  many  great  events,  so  many  historic  jour- 
neys. It  was  probably  the  oldest  road  to  the  north, 
certainly  the  most  famous  even  before  the  Tokugawa 
period  of  Yedo  residence  and  the  Daimyo’s  periodic 
migrations. 

One  of  the  most  charming  bits  of  Miss  Scidmore’s 
“ Jinrikisha  Days”  tells  how  their  party  rode  over  the 
Tokaido  just  before  the  railroad  was  built,  making  a 

64 


THE  TOKAIDO. 


65 


sort  of  farewell  trip,  before  the  old  character  of  the 
road  should  be  quite  taken  away.  Happily,  it  is  still 
quite  possible  to  make  all  or  part  of  the  trip  by  jin- 
rikisha  if  one  so  desires,  for  the  highway  is  kept  up  in 
good  condition,  and  the  inns,  if  less  elegant  than  in  the 
days  of  Daiinyo,  are  still  comfortable  and  pleasant 
enough  for  anybody.  And  certainly  if  there  is  a place 
in  the  world  where  one  resents  even  the  moderate 
speed  of  a Japanese  railroad,  it  is  on  the  Tokaido  line 
between  Kodzu  and  Xagoya  ; there  is  no  lovelier  scen- 
ery in  the  empire,  and  none  in  the  world,  perhaps,  so 
infinitely  varied,  so  crowded  with  picturesque  life,  with 
alternations  of  mountain  and  coast  and  richly  cultivated 
plain.  Kipling  indeed  complains  that  it  is  quite  too 
various  to  be  comfortably  appreciated.  “ We  came  into 
the  Hakone  mountains  by  way  of  some  Irish  scenery,  a 
Scotch  trout  stream,  a Devonshire  combe,  and  an  Indian 
river  running  masterless  over  half  a mile  of  pebbles. 
I his  was  only  the  prelude  to  a set  of  geological  illustra- 
tions, including  the  terraces  formed  by  ancient  river 
beds,  denudation,  and  half  a dozen  other  ations.  . . . 
Anybody  can  keep  pace  with  Indian  scenery,  arranged 
as  it  is  in  reaches  of  five  hundred  miles,  but  this  blind- 
ing alternation  of  field,  mountain,  sea-beach,  bamboo 
grove  and  rolling  moor  covered  with  azalea  blossoms 
was  too  much  for  me.” 

The  name  of  Eastern  Sea  road  is  well  deserv’ed. 
Starting  at  Sanjo-bashi  (Third  Street  Bridge),  in 
Kyoto,  and  ending  at  Nihonbashi,  in  Yedo,  the 
VoL.  II.— 5 


66 


JAPAN. 


Tokaiclo  is  seldom  many  miles  out  of  sight  of  the  sea ; 
and  the  railway  follows  it  through  most  of  its  course, 
except  where  it  turns  aside  to  find  an  easier  if  longer 
route  over  the  mountains,  and  later  again  from  Gifu  on, 
where  it  strikes  on  to  the  other,  the  Xakasendo  or 
Central  Mountain  road,  coming  over  by  way  of  Karui- 
zawa.  Thus,  while  the  post-road  went  up  to  Odawara, 
and  entering  the  gate  of  the  mountains,  climbed  boldly 
across  the  neck  of  the  Izu  peninsula  by  the  Hakone 
pass,  the  railroad  just  touches  Odawara  bay,  at  Kodzu, 
and  sweeping  round  in  a great  curve  to  the  right 
])lunges  into  the  rocky  valley  of  the  Sakakawa  river, 
which  drains  lake  Yamanaka  high  uj)  in  the  Kofu 
range;  and  climbing  over  passes  and  through  tunnels, 
comes  out  suddenly  on  a high  level  plain,  with  Fuji 
San  sweeping  up  in  the  midst  of  it,  not  twenty  miles 
away.  The  railroad’s  nearest  point  to  the  mountain  is 
Gotemba,  Yoritomo’s  hunting  camp,  which  lies  ag;iin.st 
the  foot  of  the  Hakone  range  five  miles  acro.ss  the  rice- 
fields  from  “tlie  skirts”  of  Fuji,  as  the  Japanese  call 
its  spreading  base.  After  that  the  line  draws  away 
again,  running  down  the  valley  of  another  little  river 
till  it  meets  the  highway  again  at  Xumazu,  on  Suruga 
bay.  Thence  the  two  keeji  together  for  half  a day, 
always  across  rice-fields,  and  through  villages,  and  past 
shrines,  marked  far  off  by  their  graceful  groups  of 
trees ; crossing  rivers,  touching  picturesque  coves,  and 
running  for  miles  along  the  shore,  the  blue  peaks 
always  in  sight,  and  Fuji  floating  above  them  all. 


THE  TOKAIDO. 


67 


The  first  place  of  importance  south  of  the  moun- 
tains is  Shizuoka,  famous  for  two  wealthy  monasteries, 
and  because,  when  Prince  Tokugawa  resigned  the 
Shogunate,  he  retired  to  a family  seat  here  and  set- 
tled down  quietly  as  a country  gentleman ; but  most 
of  all  celebrated  because  it  was  here  that  leyasu 
withdrew  during  his  last  years,  to  work  out  his 
policy  of  administration  at  leisure  from  the  cares  of 
active  rule;  and  here  that  he  prepared  his  political 
“ Testament,”  for  the  guidance  of  his  son  and  grand- 
son. 

From  Shizuoka  the  road  and  railroad  run  a long 
way  close  to  the  shore,  which  is  here  low  and  unshel- 
tered, receiving  the  full  beat  of  the  Pacific,  till,  after 
crossing  a wide  inlet — it  was  a lake,  until  the  fifteenth 
century,  when  an  earthquake  broke  down  the  sand- 
bar which  shut  out  the  sea— the  line  makes  a sudden 
turn  to  the  west  and  north,  to  sweep  around  the  deep 
])ocket  of  Owari  bay.  At  the  head  of  this  bay  is 
Nagoya,  much  the  largest  and  most  important  city  of 
the  Tokaido,  which  was  once  a castle- to Avn  and  is  now 
the  capital  of  a prefecture.  It  is  a flourishing  place, 
quite  semi-modern,  owning  an  enterprising  new  Euro- 
pean hotel,  besides  good  Japanese  inns,  and  the  old 
(and  uncommonly  poor)  half-breed  one,  which  has 
been  there  for  a couple  of  decades.  The  castle,  with 
its  golden  dolphins  on  the  gable  ends,  is  visible  on  its 
hill  for  miles  around. 

Leaving  both  Owari  bay  and  the  old  Tokaido,  the 


68 


JAPAN. 


train  now  strikes  across  to  Gifu,  three  hours  beyond ; 
a pleasant  little  town,  which  got  itself  unpleasant  fame 
by  its  share  in  a terrible  earthfpiake  that  devastated 
this  part  of  the  country  a few  years  ago.  Gifu  is  the 
last  large  town  before  reaching  Kyoto ; fifteen  miles 
beyond  it,  the  line  crosses  leyasu’s  great  battle-field, 
Sekigahara ; then  climbs  through  a mountain  range 
and  drops  on  the  other  side  to  lake  Biwa,  which  it 
skirts  for  a couple  of  hours  through  some  beautiful 
scenery ; and  so,  by  a last  tunnel,  arrives  at  Kyoto 
and  the  end  of  the  Eastern  Sea  road. 

From  first  to  last,  the  Tokaido  provinces  have  an 
air  of  abundance  and  prosperity  that  recalls  the  rich 
meadows  of  Holland  and  the  Belgian  coast ; they  are 
all  well  watered  (which  means  everything  in  Japan), 
and  the  warm,  sheltered  parts  near  the  foot  of  Fuji 
j)roduee  small  Chine.se  sugar-cane  of  good  quality,  and 
on  the  hill-slopes  excellent  tea,  second  only  to  what  is 
grown  in  the  region  near  Nara  and  the  head  of  the 
Inland  Sea.  Everywhere  cultivation  is  carried  out 
over  every  foot  of  ground,  till  you  feel  that  the 
farmer  must  know  every  stalk  of  his  rice  crop,  so 
carefully  he  tends  it,  weeding  and  re-weeding  and 
stirring  up  the  well-fertilized  .soil.  In  the  midst  of 
the  fields  delightful  scarecrows,  in  faded  blue  gar- 
ments and  huge  .straw  hats,  wave  frantic  arms  at  the 
crows  and  sparrows,  who  settle  and  pick  unabashed 
by  their  gestures  or  their  fluttering  rags.  Pas.ser.s-by 
may  be  not  less  bold,  to  judge  from  the  verse  which 


THE  TOKAIDO. 


69 


Hearn  quotes,  attributing  it  to  some  cheerful,  philo- 
sophic, half-starved  tramp  of  a student : 

“ Heavily  falls  the  rain  on  the  hat  which  I stole  from  the  scare- 
crow.” 

Probably  much  of  the  prosperity  of  these  provinces 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  in  recent  times  they  belonged 
either  to  branches  of  the  Tokugawa  family — Tokugawa 
proj)er,  or  those  wlio  bore  tlie  name  Matsudaira,  which 
was  Icyasu’s  own  family  name — or  to  Fudai  Daimyo, 
those  who  were  near  to  the  Shogun  and  enjoyed  his 
favor.  And,  besides,  the  road  itself  must  liave  brought 
traffic  and  profit  to  those  who  were  fortunate  enougli 
to  be  within  its  reacli.  In  the  old  days,  inns  and 
booths  and  villages  stood  so  thickly  along  it  that  in 
some  places  they  made  almost  a continuous  street, 
leyasu,  with  his  unfailing  wisdom,  caused  the  Tokaido 
to  be  greatly  improved  ; bridges  were  built  or  strength- 
ened, ferries  marked,  and  wide,  open  spaces  arranged 
for  on  the  banks  at  the  landings,  so  that  everybody 
might  have  room  for  his  preparations  and  for  the 
necessary  delay  while  waiting  for  ferrymen.  The 
width  of  the  road  itself  was  set  at  thirty-six  feet — 
narrow  enough  we  should  think  it — while  the  cross 
roads  were  to  be  eighteen  feet,  and  paths  across  the 
fields  three — these  last  for  men’s  feet  only.  The  road- 
bed was  not  paved,  but  laid  on  a foundation  of  small 
stones,  well  packed  down  and  raised  like'a  dike  above 


70 


JAPAN. 


the  surrounding  fields.  Thus  water  drained  quickly 
off,  and  though  after  a rain  it  might  be  gloriously 
muddy  at  first,  the  light,  dry  soil  of  Japan  would  soon 
be  quite  dusty  again.  leyasu  also  had  the  distances 
marked  off  in  ri,  which  is  a little  less  than  two 
miles  and  a half,  and  established  fifty-three  relay 
houses,  or  ])ost-statious,  where  bearers  and  pack- 
horses  had  to  be  always  in  waiting,  to  convey  any 
official  person.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  prince,  in 
whose  province  any  part  of  the  road  lay,  to  keep  it 
in  order,  maintain  the  bridges,  and  see  that  the  post- 
houses  were  well  kept  and  met  all  regulations  of  traffic, 
or  whatever.  And,  finally,  it  was  the  duty  of  each 
j)rince  to  forward  the  mails,  whether  of  the  imperial 
court  or  of  the  far  more  powerful  Bakufu  government 
at  Yedo.  Captain  Osborn,  R.  X.,  describes  graphic- 
ally how  it  was  done  in  1859,  when  all  the  ancient 
customs  were  still  in  full  force. 

“J ust  as  we  alighted  at  the  rest-station  a bell  was 
heard.  ‘ Out  of  the  way  ! Out  of  the  way  ! ’ shouts 
a Japauese  official,  and  two  men  hasten  from  the 
house  and  look  expectantly  up  the  road;  the  crowd 
divides,  as  if  cleft  with  a knife,  and,  at  a swinging 
pace,  the  carriers  are  seen  approaching — a pair  of 
stalwart,  bronze-hued  fellow.s,  strong  of  limb  and 
sound  of  wind ; their  garments  are  few,  and  those  of 
the  official  black  color,  stamped  Avith  the  imperial 
crest — a AA’hite  trefoil.  One  of  the  runners  has  a 
short  bamboo  pole  over  his  shoulder,  and  suspended 


THE  TOKAIDO. 


71 


from  it  a black  lacquer  dispatch-box,  formidable  for 
its  size ; and  we  recognize  the  strength  that  has 
brought  it  to  our  feet  so  rapidly — no,  not  to  our  feet, 
for  it  never  touches  the  ground.  In  a second  it  is 
slipped  from  the  tired  man’s  shoulder  to  that  of  the 
fresh  runner,  who  starts  down  the  road  like  a liare,  his 
comrade’s  bell  ringing  to  warn  all  travelers  to  make 
way.  Thus  the  Taikoon’s  dispatches  speed  through 
the  land;  for,  if  one  man  drops,  the  other  takes  up  the 
burden.  If  a bridge  is  broken  down,  they  must  swim 
the  torrent.  Haste! — post-haste! — must  be  seen  in 
Japan  to  be  understood.” 

What  Captain  Osborn  calls  the  imperial  crest  was 
evidently  that  of  the  Shogun,  or  the  Taikoon,  as  he 
calls  him — the  three  loaves  of  Tokugawa,  which,  dur- 
ing their  first  intercourse,  the  foreigners  naturally  took 
for  the  Enjperor’s.  The  nearest  representative  now 
of  the  running  messengers  is  the  letter  carrier,  who 
trots  through  the  city  streets,  dressed  in  a neat  uni- 
form of  dark  blue  cotton  for  winter  and  white  for 
summer;  white  mushroom  hat  on  his  head  and  feet 
shod  in  dark  cotton  tahi  (toed  stockings)  and  straw 
sandals — swift,  silent,  tireless. 

There  were  many  streams  to  cross,  all  more  or  less 
liable  to  fl(X)ds  in  summer  and  autumn  ; the  Oikawa, 
near  Shizuoka,  had  always  to  be  forded,  because  it 
was  too  wide  to  bridge  and  too  swift  to  ferry.  Bands 
of  coolies  were  always  in  Avaiting,  ready  to  take  trav- 
elers over  on  small  platforms  with  handles,  which 


72 


JAPAN. 


they  carried  on  their  shoulders.  The  rapid  current  at 
all  times,  and  the  real  danger  when  the  river  was 
high,  gave  these  bearers  a capital  chance  to  stop  in 
the  middle  and  demand  pour  boire,  in  excess  of  the 
regular  fare,  which  was  fixed  by  law  for  all  stages  of 
the  road.  As  an  offset,  however,  they  were  held 
responsible  for  the  lives  of  the  passengers  they  carried 
over.  The  scene  at  the  ford  was  always  a favorite 
with  genre  artists,  especially  the  moment  when  some 
Daimyo’s  train  was  about  to  pass ; the  lord’s  uorimon 
had  to  be  set  on  one  of  the  platforms,  and  a dozen 
stout  fellows  bore  the  poles,  while  lesser  personages 
tucked  up  their  garments  and  sat  on  the  flat  board.s, 
and  the  servants  on  the  bank  hastened  to  tie  packages 
securely  and  protect  the  baggage  against  po.ssible  wet- 
tings. 

But,  with  the  railroad,  all  these  picturesque  difficul- 
ties have  vanished  ; the  lacquered  and  gilded  norimou, 
with  their  silken  curtains ; the  retainers  clustering 
about  it,  their  number  fixed  by  the  rank  of  the  lord, 
the  standard  bearers  and  the  bows  and  muskets,  spears 
and  halberds  ; the  fine  cases  for  the  baggage  and  for 
the  utensils  to  be  used  on  the  journey  ; and,  before  all, 
the  runners  clearing  the  road  in  advance,  Avith  the  cry 
of  shita  ni  iro  ! — down  on  your  faces  ! So  the  Em- 
peror went  up  to  Tokyo  for  the  first  time  in  1868, 
and  so  he  returned  to  Kyoto  a few  months  later ; but, 
when  he  went  back  to  Tokyo  in  the  following  year, 
the  shita  ni  was  done  away  forever ; all  might  stand. 


THE  TOKAIDO, 


73 


in  respectful  sUence,  to  watch  the  plain  white  norimon 
and  the  small  band  of  attendants.  Now,  when  His 
Imperial  Majesty  travels,  he  goes  in  a special  train, 
like  other  royalties ; and  when  he  rides,  it  is  through 
streets  full  of  people,  all  shouting  at  the  top  of  their 
lungs,  “ Banzai  !” — Ten  thousand  years. 

The  peasants  of  the  Tokaido,  too,  were  the  delight 
of  Hokusai  and  his  fellow  artists  of  the  Ukiyo-ye,  or 
school  of  the  passing  world ; Hiroshige,  in  particular, 
made  set  after  set  of  color  prints,  chiefly  landscapes 
with  figures,  and  bridges  or  distant  views  of  castles. 
And  always  it  is  the  peasant  whom  they  dc])ict,  with 
the  aflection  of  a Millet,  but  in  a far  diflerent  spirit,  a 
gayety  and  subtle  humor  peculiarly  Japanese,  whether 
he  is  working  in  the  fields,  wielding  the  great  hoe,  or 
bending  under  musliroom  hat  over  the  sprouting  rice, 
or  bearing  piles  of  straw  to  be  stacked ; or  with  cotton 
handkerchief-bundle  slung  on  his  shoulders  and  stalf 
in  hand,  setting  forth  on  a visit  or  pilgrimage — even 
as  you  see  him  from  the  windows  of  the  train,  in  this 
latest  year  of  iNIeiji. 

Till  the  fifteenth  century  the  peasants  were  practi- 
cally serfs  attached  to  the  soil ; during  that  period  they 
attained  a new  degree  of  freedom,  partly  through  the 
breaking  down  of  feudal  lines — renewed,  however, 
even  more  precisely  under  the  Tokugawa — and  partly 
through  the  great  number  of  farmers  employed  as 
soldiers  in  the  new  mode  of  warfare  Avhich  came  with 
the  use  of  firearms;  some  even  obtained  lauds  and 


74 


JAPAN. 


rank  in  consequence  of  distinguished  service  and 
ability,  as  Hideyo.shi  himself  did. 

Agriculture  was  always  accounted  an  honorable  em- 
ployment, one  in  which  even  knights  might  engage 
without  loss  of  dignity ; several  early  emperors  are  on 
record  as  encouraging  it,  by  digging  ponds  and  irrigat- 
ing canals,  and  building  storehoases  for  rice,  millet  and 
other  grains.  Under  the  able  eleventh  Empci’tjr, 
Suinin,  property  belonging  to  the  government  was 
mapped  out  and  recorde;!,  and  a certain  nundjcr  t>f 
farmers  told  off  to  cultivate  it ; while  any  one  was  free 
to  take  up  waste  land  and  reclaim  and  settle  on  it. 
Part  of  the  so-called  Taikwa  reforms,”  made  in  the 
eighth  century,  were  directed  against  abuses  of  power 
on  the  part  of  governors  and  local  officials,  who  got 
possession  of  lauds  not  properly  registered,  and  used 
them  for  their  own  benefit ; and  “ all  lauds  held  by 
private  individuals  were  coufi.scated  by  the  State  and 
registered  as  public  property,”  says  the  official  history. 
At  the  same  time  various  rules  were  laid  down  for  the 
control  of  such  lands  and  their  distribution  among  the 
people ; thus  every  male  on  attaining  the  age  of  six 
years  received  two  tan  of  land  (about  half  an  acre), 
and  every  female  one-third  of  a tan,  the  areas  thus 
conferred  being,  however,  resumed  by  the  State  and  re- 
distributed every  six  years  ; but  this  scheme  was  only 
carried  out  for  a .short  time,  the  laud  being  soon  left  with 
a holder  till  his  death,  and  finally  passing  from  father 
and  .sou  like  a real  property.  Those  who  did  not  want 


THE  TOKAIDO.  75 

to  till  their  laud  sold  it  to  others,  who  thus  acquired 
great  estates.  Yet,  throughout,  the  basis  of  the  na- 
tioual  systeru  was  the  theoiy  that  private  property  in 
laud  did  not  exist ; it  remained  so  even  down  to  the 
regime  of  Meiji,  the  reign  of  the  present  Emperor, 
when  the  right  of  private  ownership  was  established 
by  law,  and  all  classes  allowed  to  hold  real  estate. 
Even  under  the  Tokugawa,  though  the  Shogun  and 
the  feudal  barons  practically  owned  immense  districts, 
these  tracts  were  still  regarded  as  temporarily  rented 
fiom  the  State.  In  early  times,  too,  it  was  the  custom 
for  the  sovereign  to  bestow  grants  of  land  for  special 
merit  or  service,  the  ground  so  bestowed  being  still 
theoretically  understood  to  be  loaned,  not  given  out- 
right ; and  certain  loi’ds  did  the  same  by  their  follow- 
ers, with  waste  lands  which  they  took  up,  and  which 
had  never  been  registered  as  belonging  to  the  State. 

Taxes  under  the  Taikwa  system  and  the  Taiho  which 
followed  it  were  levied  in  three  sej)arate  ways,  of  which 
the  most  important  was  the  direct  land  tax  laid  on  the 
rice  crop;  two  tan  (half  an  acre)  of  rice  land  was  con- 
sidered to  bear  one  hundred  sheaves,  of  which  four 
and  a quarter  went  to  the  government  as  its  share  of 
the  profit.  The  second  was  a kind  of  corvee,  each 
grown  man  being  supposed  to  do  ten  days’  ])ublic 
work  a year ; but  he  might  redeem  his  time  if  he 
wished  by  the  j)ayment  of  a ])iece  of  cloth.  The 
third  tax  was  levied  (also  in  kind)  on  fish,  silk,  cloth, 
and  other  industrial  products. 


76 


JAPAN. 


The  country  Avas  already  divided  into  provinces, 
Japanese  kuni,  and  these  again  into  les.ser  districts; 
the  Taiho  code  provided  for  graded  officers  to  admin- 
ister them,  fixing  their  salaries  according  to  rank. 
These  officers  were  to  be  appointed  for  their  ability, 
folloAving  the  Chinese  merit  system,  which  is  still  in 
vogue  in  China  with  all  its  hideous  abuses ; but, 
though  there  Avere  scA^eral  attempts  to  introduce  this 
system  in  Japan,  the  thing  neA’er  AAorked  there  long. 
It  would  seem  that  feudalism  suited  the  genius  of  the 
Japanese  race,  and  perhaps,  too,  the  broken  hill  and 
valley  nature  of  the  country,  Avhich  marked  off  pro- 
vince from  proA'ince  by  sharp  natural  boundaries; 
certainly  offices  ahvays  tended  to  become  hereditary, 
and  remain  the  understood  prerogative  of  this  or  that 
family.  If  the  chiefs  ruled  Avisely  and  justly  and  with 
a mighty  hand,  the  family  maintained  its  prestige  for 
generations,  e\'en  for  centuries ; if  not,  the  better  man 
took  the  place  by  force  of  arms  and  established  his 
line  instead.  As  De  la  ]\Iazeliere  puts  it,  “ Proprietors 
assert  their  freedom  on  their  0A\m  domains,  and  then, 
menaced  on  all  sides  by  anarchy,  the  poorer  put  them- 
seh’es  under  the  protection  of  their  rich  neighbors ; 
the  empire  is  diA’ided  into  hundreds  of  small  states, 
and  the  I’esult  is  feudalism  ” — t^nly,  as  he  goes  on  to 
point  out,  in  Japan  it  Avas  a feudalism  differing  from 
that  of  Europe  in  having  a strongly  patifiarchal  qual- 
ity— such  as  the  Hebrews,  for  instance,  might  haA  C re- 
tained, if  Ave  can  imagine  the  princes  of  Israel  estab- 


THE  TOKAIDO. 


77 


lishing  a group  of  petty  states  under  the  kingship  of 
the  house  of  David.  The  chief  of  the  clan  was  the 
father  of  all  the  members,  and  they  were  his  children, 
and  owed  him  the  same  affection  and  obedience  that 
sous  owe  to  a father ; the  Emperor  himself  holds  the 
like  paternal  relation  to  all  his  people.  It  is  the  Con- 
fucian  principle  of  filial  piety  as  the  basis  of  all  law, 
the  root  of  every  virtue. 

Since  the  governor  of  a province  was  to  be  sup-  . 
ported  out  of  the  taxes  paid  in  it,  these  naturally 
came  to  be  regarded  as  the  right  of  the  feudal  lord, 
and  in  point  of  fact  less  and  less  came  to  be  paid  in 
to  the  central  government,  more  and  more  appropri- 
ated to  the  use  of  the  Daimyo  and  the  local  require- 
ments of  his  territory.  The  Taiko  Hideyoshi,  himself 
peasant  born,  made  many  investigations  and  reforms 
of  abuse  which  had  crept  into  the  administration  of 
estates,  causing  new  surveys  to  be  made,  and  much 
property  brought  under  taxation  which  had  been 
unjustly  exempted.  From  his  time  land  was  rated 
according  to  its  })roduce  in  kind,  as  rice  land,  wood- 
land, ground  fit  for  dry  crops  (wheat,  millet  and  so 
on),  or  silk,  or  tea,  or  lacquer-raising  country.  On 
the  lands  rated  as  belonging  to  the  State,  the  culti- 
vator took  about  one-third,  the  government  the  rest. 

The  Tokugawa  Shoguns  made  further  registrations 
and  changes,  on  the  whole  to  the  advantage  of  the 
countrv  at  large.  The  “ Testament  of  leyasu  ” de- 
clared the  yearly  revenue  of  the  empire  to  be  twenty- 


78 


JAPAN. 


ei<rht  millions  nine  hundred  thousand  koku  of  rice ; 
of  this  twenty  millions  were  to  he  divided  among  the 
Daimyo  and  le.sser  lord.s,  and  the  rest  was  to  belong 
to  the  Shogun,  who  made  from  it  an  appropriation 
for  the  support  of  the  court  at  Kyoto,  and  discharged 
the  offices  of  the  central  government,  leaving  the  care 
of  roads  and  all  expenses  of  local  administration  to 
the  Daimyo. 

The  Tokugawa  revived  an  old  division  of  the  people, 
which  classed  them  in  miira  or  villages,  theoretically 
of  fifty  households,  and  these  again  in  kumi  or  groups 
of  five  families,  who  were  mutually  responsible  for 
each  other’s  conduct  and  welfare.  The  pea.sants  had 
their  own  assemblies,  and  their  own  magistrates 
chosen  by  themselves ; and  under  the  laws  of  the 
province  in  which  they  belonged  they  practically  gov- 
erned themselves  in  all  matters  of  local  interest. 

This  was  the  proclamation  of  Lord  Yozan  of 
Yonezawa  in  regard  to  the  association  of  families  and 
villages : 

“ The  farmer’s  mission  is  in  tillasre  and  silk  raising. 
Diligent  in  these,  he  feeds  his  father  and  mother,  wife 
and  children,  and  gives  his  dues  to  the  government 
in  return  for  its  jirotection.  But  all  this  is  possible 
only  by  mutual  dependence  of  one  upon  another,  for 
which  purpose  associations  of  some  kind  are  neces- 
sary, and  we  hereby  institute  anew  the  Companies  of 
Five  and  Ten  and  the  Company  of  Five  Villages,  as 
follows : 


THE  TOKAIDO. 


79 


“ The  members  of  the  Company  of  Five  should  be 
in  constant  intercourse  with  one  anotlier,  and  divide 
the  joys  and  sorrows  of  each,  as  do  the  members  of 
one  and  the  same  family. 

“ The  members  of  the  Company  of  Ten  should 
have  frequent  intercourse  with  one  another,  and  hear 
to  the  family  affairs  of  each,  as  do  they  who  are  of 
blood  kin. 

“ They  of  one  village  should  be  like  friends  in 
helping  and  serving  one  another. 

“ The  villages  which  constitute  the  Company  of 
Five  Villages  should  help  one  another  in  time  of 
trouble  as  befits  true  neighbors. 

“If  there  is  one  among  you  who  is  old  and  has  no 
child,  or  is  young  and  has  no  parents,  or  is  poor  and 
cannot  adopt  sons,  or  is  widowed,  or  is  a cripple  and 
cannot  su[)j)ort  himself,  or  is  sick  and  has  no  means  of 
help,  or  is  dead  and  left  without  burial,  or  has  met 
fire  and  is  exposed  to  rain  and  dew,  or  by  other 
calamities  his  family  is  in  distress — let  any  such  who 
has  no  one  else  to  dc{)end  upon  be  taken  up  by  his 
Company  of  Five,  and  be  cared  for  as  its  own.  In 
case  it  lies  not  in  the  said  company’s  power  to  succor 
him,  let  his  Company  of  Ten  lend  him  its  help.  If 
Ills  case  needs  more  than  the  latter  can  do,  let  his 
village  see  to  it.  Should  some  calamitv  overtake  one 
village  so  that  its  existence  is  endangered  thereby,  the 
four  of  the  Company  of  Five  Villages  should  give  it 
willing  salvation. 


80 


JAPAN. 


“ If  there  is  one  who  neglects  his  farm,  or  follows 
not  his  calling  and  runs  to  other  employments,  or 
indulges  in  banquets,  theatres  or  other  laxities,  such 
should  have  the  peremptory  admonition,  first  of  his 
Company  of  Five,  and  then  of  Ten  ; and  in  case  he 
is  still  refractory,  he  should  be  pi-ivily  reported  to  the 
village  authorities  and  receive  due  treatment.” 

Unfoi'tunately  few  districts  had  before  them  so  wise 
and  un.selfish  an  example  as  Lord  Yozan’s.  Maze- 
liere  thiidvs  that  the  system  of  mura,  kumi  and  inalien- 
able homestead,  though  seductive  in  theory,  was  per- 
nicious in  practice.  “ Secure  against  eviction,  yet  not 
allowed  to  enrich  himself,  the  Japanese  peasant  showed 
neither  zeal  for  his  work  nor  desire  to  improve  his 
methods  of  culture.  In  good  seasons  he  thought  only 
of  drinking  sak6,  visiting  temples,  and  celebrating  the 
appointed  festivals ; in  time  of  scarcity  he  resigned 
himself  with  Oriental  fatalism  to  miseiy  and  death, 
which  often  he  might  have  avoided.” 

Further,  though  the  tenant  was  no  longer  legally 
attached  to  the  soil,  yet  the  sharp  clan  distinctions, 
together  with  habits  carried  over  from  the  period  of 
serfage,  made  it  exceedingly  difficidt  for  a farmer  to 
migrate  from  an  over-populous  district  to  a le.ss  biu’- 
dencd  one  ; while  the  duties  laid  upon  all  products  in 
passing  from  one  province  to  another  threw  each 
division  back  almost  on  its  own  resources,  even  in 
time  of  famine.  And,  last  and  worst,  the  peasant  was 
forbidden  to  change  the  crop  on  a given  field  without 


THE  TOKAIDO. 


81 


express  permission  to  do  so.  The  authorities  fixed  for 
each  village  the  precise  number  of  koku  of  rice  which 
might  be  taken  from  the  food  supply  to  distill  into 
sake,  aud  in  times  of  scarcity  a whole  district  might 
be  forbidden  to  make  sake  at  all,  or  to  plant  tobacco 
for  a set  term  of  years. 

The  philosopher,  Kyuso,  wi’iting  at  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  declared  that  the  people  had 
far  too  little  access  to  the  authorities,  too  little  oppor- 
tunity to  complain  of  difficulties  and  wrongs.  He 
draws  a dark  picture  of  the  state  of  things,  saying 
that  the  towns  are  full  of  incendiaries  and  evil-doers, 
who  have  been  driven  from  the  country  by  want,  and, 
finding  themselves  destitute  and  far  from  their  villages, 
in  desperation  they  commit  all  sorts  of  crimes.  “ Pressed 
by  fashion  into  extravagance  and  luxury,  princes  and 
officials  lay  burdens  ujion  the  people.  Their  houses 
are  filled  with  a crowd  of  servitors  who  do  nothing 
but  drink  and  gamble.  The  least  wicked  stand  by  and 
let  fire  consume  their  master’s  house;  the  rest  steal, 
and  then  set  the  place  on  fire  to  hide  what  they  have 
done.  The  real  cause  of  these  crimes  is  the  master’s 
indifference  and  insensate  luxury.” 

The  fact  was  that  the  Japanese  landlord  had  almost 
absolute  power  to  exact  rents  from  his  tenants,  and  the 
only  redress  was  for  the  peasants  to  assemble  in  a body 
and  present  themselves  at  their  lord’s  gate,  setting 
forth  their  necessities  and  entreating  relief.  Sometimes 
a prince  was  merely  careless  and  indifferent,  and  was 
VoL.  II. — 6 


82 


JAPAN. 


thus  brought  to  his  senses ; sometimes  for  very  shame 
he  granted  what  was  demanded  in  this  public  manner ; 
and  sometimes  the  bold  petitioners  paid  for  it  with 
their  lives ; yet  perhaps,  even  so,  gained  for  the  rest 
of  the  jjroviiice  the  needed  respite. 

Such  a case  was  that  of  the  famous  Sogoro,  who.se 
story  is  almost  as  well  known  and  popular  in  Japan 
as  the  deeds  of  the  Faithful  Roniu.  Briefly,  it  is 
this : 

In  the  days  of  the  third  Shogun  lemitsu,  a certain 
lord  named  Kotsuke  succeeded  his  father  in  his  Daim- 
iate,  and,  being  selfish  and  care!e.ss  of  his  people’s 
good,  increased  the  taxes  till  the  farmers  were  almost 
ruined.  In  vain  they  besought  their  overseers  to  in- 
tercede for  them ; year  by  year  the  burden  grew 
heavier,  and  the  villagers  became  desperate. 

The  elders  of  all  the  villages  throughout  the  terri- 
tory therefore  met  and  re.sol\’ed  to  petition  the  coun- 
cilors of  their  lord;  and  this  they  did,  but  were  sent 
away  without  any  redress.  As  a last  effort  they 
resolved  to  go  up  to  Yedo,  and  carry  their  petition  to 
their  prince  at  his  own  door.  When  this  was  pro- 
posed Sogoro,  who  was  head  man  of  a village  and 
one  of  their  number,  warned  them  of  the  danger  of 
such  a step,  and  said  that  while  it  was  well  to  make 
every  effort,  he  did  not  think  as  much  attention  would 
be  paid  in  Yedo,  where  they  were  not  known,  as  in 
their  own  jdace ; and  if  they  went  they  would  do  well 
to  set  their  affairs  in  order  and  say  farewell  to  their 


THE  TOKAIDO. 


83 


families  before  starting.  To  this  proposition  all  agreed, 
yet  determined  to  go  and  do  what  they  could  ; but  at 
the  last  moment  Sogoro  made  some  excuse  and  did  not 
go  with  them. 

As  he  had  predicted,  the  officials  of  their  lord’s  house- 
hold refused  to  receive  their  petition,  and  drove  them 
from  the  door;  so,  after  repeated  attempts,  they  gave  up 
in  despair,  and  sent  for  Sogoro  in  hopes  he  might  have 
something  better  to  suggest.  Sogoro  therefore  told 
his  wife  what  was  on  hand,  and  gave  her  careful  direc- 
tions as  to  all  he  wished  done  in  case  of  his  death,  and 
went  up  to  join  the  rest.  lie  told  them  the  next  thing 
was  to  make  an  attempt  to  hand  a petition  to  one  of 
the  inner  council,  the  Gornjhc  (elders),  as  they  were 
called ; but  since  their  master  was  a member  of  the 
body,  he  warned  them  that  it  would  probably  be  un- 
successful and  also  cost  their  lives ; so  that  he  advised 
all  but  six  to  I’etnrn  to  their  villages,  while  the  rest 
did  what  they  could  for  the  good  of  all.  This  was 
done,  and  Sogoro  himself  contrived  to  give  the  jx'ti- 
tion  to  one  of  the  elders  as  he  rode  in  his  litter.  A 
few  days  later  Sogoro  was  summoned  to  the  house  of 
this  prince,  and  the  petition  returned  to  him,  with  a 
severe  reprimand  for  his  audacity,  which,  however, 
the  prince  was  graciously  pleased  to  overlook.  Sogoro 
took  the  opportunity  to  plead  the  necessity  of  the 
peo|)le,  but  without  effect. 

There  was  just  one  more  attempt  possible,  and  that 
a most  difficult  and  dangerous  one : an  appeal  to  the 


84 


JAPAN. 


Shogun  himself.  Sogoro  prepared  another  paper,  and 
waiting  till  the  Shogun  went  one  day  to  worship  at 
the  shrine  of  his  father  at  Uyeno  temple,  hid  himself 
under  a bridge,  with  his  writing  tied  on  the  end  of  a 
bamboo  pole,  and  crying,  “ 1 humbly  l>eg  to  2)resent  a 
petition  to  your  Highness,”  managed  to  slip  it  into 
lemitsu’s  litter.  The  officers  at  the  same  time  seized 
him  and  put  him  in  prison. 

Lord  Kotsuke’s  wrath  was  directed  first  of  all 
against  his  councilors  and  governors,  whom  he  re- 
proached for  having  l)ungled  matters  in  such  a fashion 
that  the  men  had  been  driven  to  so  desperate  a course, 
by  which  he  might  well  have  been  ruined;  for  he 
knew  very  well  it  was  only  his  high  office  that  saved 
him  from  losing  his  estates.  As  for  Sogoro,  he  con- 
demned him  to  death  by  crucifixion,  and  not  only  so, 
but  his  wife  and  children  were  to  be  killed  also.  The 
retainers  were  horrified,  and  tried  to  induce  their  lord 
to  punish  only  the  guilty  man,  but  he  would  not 
listen ; the  other  six  village  head  men  were  not  put  to 
death,  however,  but  banished  from  the  province,  and 
their  goods  confiscated. 

The  sentence  was  carried  out  in  the  presence  of  a 
weejiing  crowd,  to  whom  Sogoro  and  his  Avife  both 
declared  their  Avillingness  to  die  for  the  rest,  who  had 
been  indeed  released  from  the  unjust  taxation ; but 
Sogoro  cried  with  a loud  voice  that  he  denounced  his 
master’s  cruelty  and  injustice  in  putting  to  death  his 
wife  and  the  innocent  children,  and  declared  that  he 


THE  TOKAIDO. 


85 


should  “ pay  his  thauks  to  Lord  Kotsuke  for  this  day’s 
work.”  They  should  see  it,  “ so  that  it  shall  be  talked 
of  for  generatious  to  come.  As  a sign,  when  I am 
dead,  my  head  shall  turn  and  face  toward  the  castle. 
When  you  see  this,  doubt  not  that  my  words  shall 
come  true.”  ^ 

And  it  was  even  so,  as  he  had  said.  Then,  when 
the  retainers  who  had  charge  of  the  execution  saw 
how  the  dead  face  looked  toward  the  castle,  they  were 
frightened,  and  came  and  bowed  before  the  corpse, 
making  apology  on  the  part  of  their  lord;  praising 
Sogoro’s  self-sacrifice  and  acknowledging  that,  though 
his  own  doom  was  deserved,  it  was  wrong  to  punish 
the  innocent.  But  when  Lord  Kotsuke  lieard  it  he 
only  laughed  at  the  notion  of  fearing  a dead  peasant. 

However,  a few  months  later,  the  Lady  Kotsnke 
began  to  fall  ill,  and  to  have  strange  visions  and  hear 
terrible  sounds  at  night ; and  her  ladies  heard  them, 
too ; and  when  Lord  Kotsnke  himself  kept  watch  in 
her  room,  he,  too,  heard  the  noises  and  saw  the  ghosts 
of  Sogoro  and  his  wife,  tied  to  the  crossed  poles,  float- 
ing in  the  air  before  him.  In  vain  he  sent  for  all 
sorts  of  exorcists ; the  visions  would  not  cease.  The 
lady  grew  steadily  worse,  and,  after  some  months, 
died.  Then  the  ghosts  haunted  Lord  Kotsuke  more 
persistently  than  ever,  and  began  to  attack  his  young 
son,  so  that  he  became  almost  mad  ; nor  did  the  visita- 
tions cease  till  the  lord  sent  to  the  grave  of  Sogoro 

* Mitford:  “Tales  of  Old  Japan.” 


86 


JAPAN. 


and  had  a temple  built,  and  sent  an  embassy  to  the 
Emperor  himself,  making  request  to  have  the  dead 
peasant  canonized  as  a saint.  Then,  at  last,  his  mind 
became  clear  and  his  misfortunes  were  ended ; more, 
in  a few  years  much  prosperity  came  to  him,  so  that 
it  was  evident  to  all  that  the  saint  had  forgiven  and 
was  helping  his  former  master.  Sogoro’s  shrine,  in  the 
level  country  some  forty  miles  northeast  of  Tokyo,  is 
a simple  one,  but  most  popular  with  the  peasant  class, 
and  his  grave  is  seldom  without  incense  burning 
on  it. 

Wiser  and  more  careful  of  his  people  was  the  lord 
of  Odawara,  who,  during  the  difficulties  of  the  eight- 
eenth century,  found  among  his  subjects  a peasant 
philosopher  and  economist,  one  Ninomiya,  a thinker 
who  based  all  his  political  economy  upon  morality, 
and,  encouraged  by  his  lord,  applied  his  own  diligence 
and  force  of  character  so  well  that  he  reclaimed 
almost  a whole  province  from  distress.  His  method 
was  to  go  and  live  in  the  villages  which  were  in  diffi- 
culties, and  working  with  and  among  the  people,  to 
show  them  how  to  help  themselves  and  persuade  them 
back  to  habits  of  thrift.  Ninomiya  also  believed  in 
direct  help,  where  help  was  needed,  and  had  very 
radical  methods  of  going  to  work  to  get  it.  On  one 
occasion  a wide-spread  famine  involved  the  province 
of  which  he  was  acting  as  governor.  The  lord  of  Oda- 
wara, who  was  in  residence  at  Yedo,  sent  him  into  the 
district  to  relieve  the  distress ; he  promptly  hurried  to 


THE  TOKAIDO. 


87 


OJawara  castle  and  asked  for  the  keys  of  the  granary, 
Tlie  keepers  refused  rather  curtly,  saying  they  must 
hav^e  a special  order  from  their  lord.  “Very  well, 
gentlemen,”  said  Niuomiya,  “we  will  send  to  my 
lord ; but  siuce,  before  the  messenger  can  return  from 
Yedo,  many  of  our  starving  people  must  die,  I think 
it  is  suitable  that  we,  who  are  their  guardians,  should 
also  abstain  from  food.  I will  sit  here  in  the  guard- 
room and  fast,  and  do  you  do  likewise ; thus  perhaps 
we  shall  be  able  to  understand  something  of  the  peo- 
ple’s sufferings.”  The  governor  was  known  to  be  a 
man  of  his  word  and  high  in  the  favor  of  his  lord, 
and  tlie  keys  were  i)i’csently  handed  over. 

Siuce  the  Restoration,  the  pea.sant  has  owned  his 
land,  paying  ta.v  to  the  central  government  and  e.xer- 
cising  all  tlie  rights  of  a citizen  ; and  even  lie,  conser- 
vative as  he  is  by  nature  and  occupation,  is  feeling  the 
changes  of  the  times.  He  no  longer  wears  chiefly 
second-hand  clothing,  as  he  once  did;  he  knows  much 
— at  least,  along  the  Tokaido — of  what  is  doing  in 
the  world  of  Japan  ; and,  most  of  all,  changes  come  to 
him  when  his  son  goes  off  to  serve  his  term  in  the 
array  and  comes  back  when  his  years  are  up,  the  wiser 
for  a good  deal  of  aseful  schooling,  and  the  worse, 
jirobably,  for  a sense  of  knowing  a great  deal  more 
than  the  old  folks.  Still,  the  Japanese  Tommy  Atkins 
is  a simple-hearted  creature,  and  his  few  airs  are  harm- 
less, after  all. 

One  charming  little  side-trip  on  the  Tokaido  can 


88 


JAP^VN. 


be  made  with  very  little  trouble  or  fatigue,  and  is 
more  than  worth  the  effort.  It  is  the  ride  from  Shizu- 
oka to  the  temple  of  Kunozau,  where  the  body  of 
leyasu  was  laid  till  the  temples  at  Xikko  were  built 
to  receive  it.  Shizuoka  itself  is  an  exeeedingly 
attractive  little  town,  lying  on  the  shore  of  Suruga 
bay,  and  has  a very  good  inn  ; there  are  also  two  very 
fine  temples,  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  belonging 
t(j  a monastery  of  the  Zen  sect.  The  temples  stand 
back  from  the  town  and  the  shore,  almost  against  the 
steep  hills,  whi(;h  form  a half  circle  around  the  green 
little  plain.  The  monastery  contains  many  interesting 
relics  of  leyasu,  and  some  fine  paintings  of  Kano 
artists  on  the  sliding  screens  of  the  apartments  ; one 
beautiful  landscape,  running  all  across  one  side  of  the 
room,  might  be  a view  from  Shizuoka  itself — a winding 
river  in  a vast  stretch  of  rice-fields ; hills  to  the  left 
and  right,  and  in  the  middle  the  white  cone  and  long 
sweeping  lines  of  Mount  Fuji  losing  itself  in  the 
misty  plain. 

Just  such  views  break  on  you  on  the  way  to  Kuno- 
zan,  until  you  lose  the  distance  behind  the  high  steep 
hill,  at  the  foot  of  which  the  temple  lies  in  a little 
hamlet,  almost  on  the  sea.  On  the  ocean  side  there 
are  endless  green  promontories,  covered  with  pictur- 
esque pines,  and  the  long  shore  of  the  Izu  peninsula, 
across  the  bay.  The  temple  buildings  are  very  fine, 
much  like  Xikko  in  general  style,  but  smaller  and 
less  elaborate.  Instead  of  returning  to  Shizuoka  by 


THE  TOKAIDO. 


89 


the  same  road,  one  can  go  on  to  Ejiri  or  Okitsu  station 
on  the  railroad,  and  take  the  train  back  from  there  ; 
or  reverse,  and  leave  the  train  at  Okitsu  and  ride  to 
Shizuoka  by  way  of  Kunozan.  Either  way  is  a 
delightful  ride  among  the  country  villages  ; but,  going 
this  way,  you  turn  your  back  upon  Fuji  San,  which 
it  is  always  a great  pity  to  do. 


CHAPTER  V. 


MOUNT  FUJI. 


“ Where  on  the  one  hand  is  the  jirovince  of  Kai, 

And  on  the  other  tlie  land  of  Suruga, 
llight  in  the  midst  between  them 
Stands  out  the  high  peak  of  Fuji. 

The  very  clouds  of  heaven  dread  to  approach  it ; 

Even  the  soaring  birds  reach  not  its  summit  in  their  flight. 

Its  burning  fire  is  quenclied  by  the  snow, 

The  snow  that  falls  is  melted  by  the  fire. 

Of  Yamato,  the  Laud  of  Sunrise, 

It  is  the  Peace-giver,  it  is  the  God,  it  is  the  Treasure. 

On  the  peak  of  Fuji,  in  the  land  of  Suruga, 

I never  weary  of  gazing.” 

— From  the  “ Manyoshiu,”  Aston’s  translation. 

“Fujiyama  is  the  keynote  of  Japan.  When  you  understand  the 
one,  you  are  in  a position  to  learn  something  of  the  other.” 

— Kipling  : “ From  Sea  to  Sea.” 

T)escuiptions  are  hopeless  things.  One  might  as 
well  try  to  say  why  the  Hermes  of  Praxiteles  fills  us 
with  delight,  or  why  we  stand  long  before  a Raphael 
or  a Bellini  or  a great  Titian,  as  to  attempt  to  put 
into  words  the  charm  of  Japan.  That  it  is  a mingled 
charm  goes  without  saying;  that  what  delights  one 
leaves  another  cold ; what  La  Farge  perceived  and 
interpreted  with  .so  much  sympathy  was  something 

90 


MOUNT  FUJI. 


91 


quite  different  from  the  dainty  prettinesses  that  roused 
Sir  Edwin  Arnold’s  enthusiasm.  And  what  is  true 
of  the  country  at  large  is  even  more  true  of  the  sacred 
mountain;  one  can  tell  of  its  situation,  of  the  level 
plain  a thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and  the  eleven 
thousand  feet  more  rising  from  the  plain  in  unbroken 
sweep,  save  only  where  the  one  little  mound  breaks 
the  southeastern  side ; of  the  living  grace  of  the  lines, 
formed  by  the  piling  ashes,  as  snowdrifts  are  piled  by 
the  wind  ; the  result  will  be  as  moving  as  fair  Olivia’s 
ironical  catalogue  of  her  charms — Item,  Two  lips, 
indifferent  red  ; two  eyes,  one  nose.”  Even  pictures, 
])hotographs,  give  only  the  shape  and  color  of  the 
mountain,  not  its  indefinable  effect  on  the  mind  ; per- 
haps the  only  reproductions  which  have  ever  done  that 
are  Hokusai’s  wonderful  “ Hundred  Views  of  Fuji,” 
and  his  larger  plates  of  the  “ Thirty  Views ; ” and 
these  owe  their  success,  so  far  as  they  do  succeed,  to 
the  fact  that  they  are  impressions,  records  of  what 
one  sensitive  mind,  at  least,  has  felt  concerning  Fuji 
in  some  of  her  manifold  moods. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  the  peculiarly 
sacro-sanct  character  of  the  mountain  dates  from  a 
period  long  before  the  Japanese  occupation  of  the 
country,  the  period  of  the  Ainu  and  their  hypothetical 
predecessors,  the  Koropuk-giiru ; as  I have  said 
already,  the  name  is  pretty  certainly  identical  with 
the  xVinu  Fuchi,the  Fire  Goddess  of  their  mythology. 
This  name,  Fuji,  may  be  variously  written  with  either 


92 


JAPAN. 


of  three  characters,  which  of  itself  points  to  its 
having  been  a word  kept  over  from  an  unknown 
tongue,  and  connected  with  any  word  of  like  sound 
and  not  impossible  meaning. 

During  all  the  earlier  centuries  Fuji  San  was  truly 
and  evidently  the  abode  of  fire ; till  at  least  the  year 
1100  the  smoke  never  ceased  to  hang  above  the  cone, 
and  there  were  frequent  outbursts  of  ashes  and  stones. 
The  last  great  one  was  in  the  first  years  of  the  eight- 
eenth century,  when  ashes  fell  six  inches  deep  in 
Tokyo,  sixty  miles  away  as  the  crow  flies,  and  the 
vegetation  was  killed  on  all  the  upper  part  of  the 
mountain,  especially  on  the  eastern  side.  At  this 
time  the  little  mound  was  piled,  or  at  least  made  more 
noticeable ; it  is  called,  from  the  name  of  the  period 
in  which  the  shower  fell,  Iloei-Zan.  Since  then  there 
has  been  no  smoke  or  fire,  but  at  one  side  of  the  crater 
even  yet  the  steam  pours  continually  in  small  jets 
through  the  ashes.  It  may  come  forth  again.  Ban- 
daizan  in  the  north  had  been  quiet  for  eleven  cen- 
turies, and  trees  had  grown  upon  the  crater,  when  the 
inner  fires  suddenly  burst  out  and  flung  the  whole 
crest  across  the  valley.  Doubtless  to  the  early  wor- 
shipers it  was  the  a^\■fuluess  of  these  hidden  forces 
that  gave  the  charm  of  terror  to  the  goddess-moun- 
tain’s beauty. 

So  sacred  was  Fuji  that  in  old  times  no  woman  was 
permitted  to  .set  foot  on  it,  and  even  now  some  con- 
servative ones  hold  themselves  unworthy  to  go  beyond 


MOUNT  FUJI. 


93 


a certain  point,  the  eighth  station,  as  the  distances  are 
reckoned  off  on  the  climb.  They  say  that  the  shape 
of  the  mountain  suggested  a pile  of  rice  poured  out 
of  the  measure,  and  so  they  divided  it  up  into  so 
many  go,  like  a sho  of  rice ; but  not  all  of  the  ten  theo- 
retical divisions  have  huts  for  rest  or  shelter,  wJiile 
others  have  several.  There  are  six  or  seven  paths  by 
which  to  ascend,  radiating  from  the  cone  like  spokes 
from  a wheel — two  from  the  Ilakone  side,  one  from 
nearly  south,  which  is  most  popular  with  the  Japanese, 
and  which  they  consider  the  proper  or  ‘‘  front  en- 
trance;” and  the  rest  from  the  north  and  west.  All 
are  marked  with  the  ten  station-s,  with  or  witliont  rest 
huts  at  each  ; and  there  is  said  to  be  comparatively 
little  difference  in  the  time  or  steepness  of  the  ascent 
by  eitlier  one. 

Tlie  first  foreigner  to  make  the  ascent  was  Sir 
Rutherford  Alcock,  first  British  ^Minister  to  Japan. 
It  is  not  recorded  that  he  had  any  very  consuming 
desire  to  go,  but  the  idea  having  been  suggested,  he 
pressed  it  with  true  British  determination,  on  the 
ground  that  as  tlie  representative  of  a friendly  power 
h.e  was  entitled  by  treaty  to  go  anywhere  tluit  any  lay 
Japanese  miglit  enter.  The  Shogun’s  government  very 
naturally  feared  the  effect  on  the  people  of  vdiat  could 
not  but  seem  to  them  a gross  jirofanation  of  the  sacn’cd 
place,  and  tried  hard  to  persuade  the  minister  to  give 
up  or  at  least  postpone  his  expedition  ; but  he  felt 
that  to  yield  in  this  was  to  give  uj)  a principle  most 


94 


JAPAN. 


important  to  British  interests  abroad,  and  insisted  on 
having  the  permission  and  foil  safeguards.  It  is  not 
for  us — who  enjoy  under  the  “ most  favored  nation 
clause”  all  that  England  has  won — to  say  that  Sir 
Rutherford  was  wrong ; at  least  unless  we  are  ready  to 
concede  that  our  own  demands  by  Commodore  Perry 
were  wrong  also,  and  that  no  nation  has  a right  to 
force  treaties  of  intercour.se  on  an  unwilling  people. 
At  any  rate.  Sir  Rutherford  gained  his  point,  and  the 
goddess  of  the  mountain  manife.sted  no  di.spleasure ; 
nor  did  she  seem  offended  even  when  Lady  Parkes 
climbed  with  Sir  Rutherford’s  succe.ssor,  the  bluff, 
frank  Sir  Harry  Parkes.  Lady  Parkes  was  the  first 
woman  who  ever  visited  Fuji  San;  but  she  has  had 
plenty  of  succes-sors,  for  though  it  is  a long  and  fatigu- 
ing trip,  there  is  no  danger  and  no  particular  difficulty 
in  the  climb. 

And  here  be  it  remarked  that  I who  write  know 
Fuji  from  many  points  of  its  beautiful  “skirts” — no 
farther.  Concerning  the  ascent,  I declare  what  has 
been  told  me,  no  more.  Thus,  then,  they  say  it  is 
done. 

There  are  a little  less  than  thi’ee  months  during 
which  the  mountain  is  officially  “ open,”  and  though 
hardy  climbers  have  occasionally  gone  at  other  times, 
it  is  for  the  love  of  hardship  and  the  unusual.  The 
re.st  houses  are  not  occupied  except  during  the  season, 
and  the  guides  will  not  go  so  long  as  there  is  any 
snow  on  the  path,  partly  for  fear  of  the  anger  of  the 


MOUNT  FUJI. 


95 


goddess,  who  should  not  be  approached  except  at  due 
times.  It  is  cold  enough  always  at  night,  even  down 
to  freezing  in  the  hottest  weather,  though  through  the 
day  the  sun  on  the  lower  part  of  the  slope  may  be 
intense.  A few  years  ago  a Tokyo  meteorologist 
determined  to  spend  the  winter  on  the  top  of  Fuji,  in 
order  to  make  observations ; his  friends  tried  in  vain 
to  dissuade  him  ; but  he  declared  it  would  be  no  worse 
than  an  arctic  winter,  and  made  all  his  preparations 
to  stay  through  the  season,  his  plucky  wife  going 
along,  but  no  one  else.  But,  as  it  proved,  the  fearful 
winds  made  their  situation  far  worse  than  in  any  ordi- 
nary trip  to  tlie  pole ; and  they  would  certainly  have 
perished  if  their  friends  had  not  become  so  uneasy 
that  they  sent  up  a party  to  investigate.  They  found 
Mr.  Nonaka  almost  dead  from  exposure,  and  his  wife 
in  hardly  better  condition  ; tlie  guides  of  the  relief 
party  made  improvised  litters  and  carried  them  down 
over  the  snow  in  safety. 

If  it  were  possible  to  be  on  Fuji  in  winter,  that 
would  certainly  be  the  best  time  to  enjoy  the  view ; 
day  after  day  the  whole  slope  stands  out  clear  in  the 
clear  winter  air,  covered  with  snow  nearly  to  its  base, 
and  it  must  be  possible  to  see  not  only  all  the  thirteen 
provinces  which  tradition  declares  visible,  but  even 
beyond.  Indeed,  the  Rev.  AValter  Weston  declares 
that  in  all  fine  weather  you  see  very  much  farther 
than  is  set  down  in  the  usual  accounts.  The  best 
time  for  seeing  anything  is  during  late  July  and  early 


96 


JAPAN. 


August — July  2oth  to  August  10th  Professor  Cham- 
berlain says — because  at  that  time  the  early  summer 
rains  are  generally  over,  and  the  tremendous  storms 
of  August  and  September  not  yet  begun.  Still,  it  is 
largely  a chance,  just  as  in  Switzerland,  and  for  that 
reason,  if  no  other,  it  is  well  to  try  for  two  sunrises 
and  a sunset,  since  those  are  the  best  times  of  day.  By 
noon  the  clouds  gather  about  the  cone,  or  lie  in  mas.ses 
on  the  sides,  affording  wonderful  effects  of  shadow 
and  light,  but  little  distant  view,  or,  rather,  little  but 
the  most  distant,  for  sometimes  the  horizon  of  the  sea 
Avill  be  visible,  or  some  far-away  mountain  peak, 
when  all  the  nearer  earth  is  blotted  out.  The  wise 
ones,  therefore,  advise  starting  a couple  of  hours  after 
midnight  from  one  of  the  inns,  Gotemba  or  Subashiri, 
and  pushing  on  to  a point  well  up  the  side  before  the 
sun  rises.  This  also  avoids  the  sun  on  the  hottest  part 
of  the  climb.  Then  they  go  on  .slowly,  reaching  the 
rest  huts  at  the  summit  by  noon;  take  the  afternoon 
for  the  crater  and  the  round  of  shrines,  and  spend  the 
night  at  the  top,  returning  the  next  day. 

In  any  case,  it  is  .safest  to  take  along  provisions  for 
a few  days,  because  travelers  have  been  caught  some- 
times by  sudden  storms  of  .sleet  and  wind,  making  it 
impossible  to  stir  from  the  sheltering  huts,  whether  to 
go  up  or  down.  Such  an  experience  Miss  Scidmore 
had,  and  it  mu.st  have  been  much  more  unpleasant 
than  her  cheery  account  of  it  admits.  At  most  of 
the  .stations  where  there  are  rest  houses  it  is  possible 


MOUNT  FUJI. 


97 


to  get  cooked  rice  and  hot  water ; quilts  every  one 
brings  along,  and  charcoal  is  not  a bad  thing  in  case 
of  being  held  some  days.  The  pilgrims  carry  strings 
of  waraji,  straw  sandals  which  tie  around  the  ankles, 
and  drop  the  worn-out  ones  all  along  the  way,  for  the 
sharp  cinders  quickly  cut  everything  to  pieces ; for- 
eigners also  tie  these  waraji  on  over  their  shoes,  and 
find  them  a great  protection  to  the  leather,  as  well  as 
a great  help  in  keeping  the  feet  from  slipping. 
Europeans  who  have  done  much  tramping  in  Japan 
often  come  to  discard  their  own  boots  entirely,  and 
wear  the  strong  dark-blue  cotton  tabi  and  waraji,  like 
the  Japanese  pilgrims.  The  toe  strap  is  uncomfort- 
able at  first,  but  the  feeling  soon  goes  off,  as  every 
one  knows  who  has  tried  wearing  Japane.se  dress. 

It  is  possil)le  to  ride  on  horseback  not  only  across 
the  cultivated  plain  and  gradual  rise  to  the  jioint 
called  Uma-gaeshi  (horse-turn-back),  but  for  another 
five  miles  beyond,  over  a grassy  moor  which  reaches 
to  the  foot  of  the  trees.  At  what  is  counted  the 
entrance  to  the  sjiered  portion  there  is  a little  temple, 
where  the  priests  .sell  stavc.s,  stamped  with  the  temj)le 
seal ; at  the  top  the  staff  is  stamped  again  by  the 
priests  in  charge  there,  in  testimony  that  the  pilgrim 
has  accomplished  the  ascent. 

The  trees  begin  at  four  thousand  feet — a beautiful 
mos.sy  wood,  full  of  berries  and  wild  dowers;  it 
reaches  highest  on  the  west  side,  something  over  nine 
hundred  feet,  but  on  the  east — the  side  toward 
VoL.  II.— 7 


98 


JAPAN. 


Gotcmba — it  is  cut  off  sharply  at  about  five  thousand 
five  hundred  feet,  where  the  mass  of  ashes  stopped  in 
the  last  great  eruption.  Beyond  this  there  Ls  a band 
of  bushy  scrub  aud  some  few  hardy  flowers,  but  only 
for  a little  way ; all  the  upper  part  of  the  cone  is  a 
desolate  slope  of  blackish  cinder,  through  which 
masses  of  lava  protrude  here  and  there  from  the 
blocks  below.  There  is  lava  underneath  to  an 
immense  distance  — fifteen  miles  — but  very  little 
shows  on  the  surface,  and  that  only  where  streams 
have  worn  away  the  ashes.  Some  little  distance 
above  the  trees  another  path  encircles  the  mountain, 
aud  energetic  pilgrims  stay  over  a day  aud  take  this, 
too,  in  their  journey. 

A rocky  wall  of  peaks  surrounds  the  crater,  which 
can  be  entered  at  just  one  pniut  by  an  easy  slope; 
the  bottom  is  nearly  flat,  and  about  five  hundred  feet 
down.  The  highest  peak  is  Ken-ga-mine,  on  the  west 
side,  and  here  it  is  that  Japane.se  ])ilgrims  go  before 
dawn,  reverently  to  greet  the  rising  sun.  They  dress 
in  white,  these  mountain  pilgrims,  to  symbolize  the 
purity  of  heart  needful  for  the  goddess’  devotees;  and 
they  come  by  thousands  through  the  short  weeks  that 
the  shrines  are  open,  peasants  nearly  all  of  them, 
wearing  big  stra^v  hats,  and  carrying  their  provisions 
and  a ])iece  of  straw  matting,  which  will  serve  them 
for  bed  or  rain-coat  as  necessity  may  arise. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  legends  concerning  Fuji 
San  are  endless.  As  to  its  origin,  tradition  has  it 


MOUNT  FUJI. 


99 


that  there  was  once  no  mountain  here  at  all,  only  a 
great  plain ; till  one  night  there  was  a tremendous 
earthquake,  and  Fuji  rose  to  its  full  height,  where 
now  it  stands ; and  at  the  same  time  lake  Biwa  ap- 
peared, a hundred  miles  to  the  south ; the  mass  which 
made  the  mountain  had  left  the  hollow  where  it  once 
was.  A «Tapanese  author  of  some  centuries  ago 
gravely  discussed  this  legend,  and  dismissed  it  as 
quite  impossible. 

The  goddess  of  Fuji  was  a purely  Shinto  deity,  to 
begin  with,  and  had  a proper  Shinto  name  of  nine 
syllables,  but  the  Buddhist  autliorities,  as  usual, 
adopted  her  and  gave  her  a Buddhistic  appellation, 
Sengen,  and  certain  Buddhistic  attributes.  At  Shi- 
zuoka there  is  a noble  temple  in  her  honor,  appro- 
priately placed  where  the  long  southeastern  slope  of 
the  mountain  .spreads  down  to  the  sea,  and  the  view 
is  uninterrupted  from  cone  to  plain.  This  particular 
temple  dates  only  from  early  Tokugawa  times,  having 
been  built  under  the  care  of  Okubo,  leyasu’s  faithful 
vassal  and  lemitsu’s  counselor.  It  has  a fine  hall, 
supported  on  red  lacquered  pillars,  and  some  very 
boautiful  wood  carving,  part  of  it  by  Hidari  Jingoro, 
of  Xikko  fame.  Scngen’s  father  is  also  honored  here  ; 
he  was  a Tengu,  or  mountain  kobold,  and  the  guar- 
dian deity  of  Mount  Oyama,  which  lies  northeast  of 
Fuji. 

Much  of  this  })lain  at  the  southeastern  slope  of 
Fuji  San  is  watered  from  lake  Hakone,  by  an  arti- 


100 


JAPAN. 


ficial  channel  tunneled  through  the  mountains  near 
one  of  the  lesser  passes ; it  was  made  many  centuries 
ago,  no  one  seems  to  know  just  when.  The  water 
finally  makes  its  way  into  the  little  Kanogawa,  and 
empties  into  Suruga  bay  at  Xumazu,  on  the  Tokaido. 

IMucli  larger  and  wider  than  the  Kanogawa,  and  very 
swift,  is  the  Fuji  river,  which  rises  in  the  mountains 
above  Kofu  and  flo^\'s  down  between  two  ranges  and 
out  on  to  the  plain  to  reach  Suruga  bay.  It  is 
navigable  for  some  thirty  miles,  the  boats  having  to 
be  towed  up  by  men,  and  shooting  down  through 
several  small  rapids  and  one  great  one  almost  to  the 
mouth  of  the  river.  The  number  of  boats  so  engaged 
is  astonishing ; at  times  the  stream  seems  full  of  them. 
A curious  bridge  crosses  the  river  in  one  place,  made 
of  bamboo,  split  and  twisted  into  ropes,  suspending  a 
long  series  of  bundles  of  bamboo,  lashed  together  to 
form  the  l)ridge.  A single  row  of  planks  is  laid  on 
it,  and  it  has  one  supporting  prop  part  way  over.  The 
whole  is  a hundred  feet  long,  and  from  twenty-five  to 
thirty-five  feet  above  the  river ; and  over  this  narrow, 
swaying  affair  the  peasants  walk  unconcernedly,  carry- 
ing their  loads  of  produce  or  faggots.  They  say  there 
are  many  like  it  in  the  mountains. 

In  the  middle  ages  the  Fujikawa  just  mFsed  being 
the  scene  of  a tremendous  battle.  It  was  during  the 
struggle  between  the  Taira  and  Minamoto,  when 
Yoritomo  had  already  entrenched  himself  at  Kama- 
kura, but  before  the  death  of  the  old  Taira  chief, 


MOUNT  FUJI. 


101 


Kiyomori.  Yoritomo  had  gathered  followers  from 
the  provinces  north  of  the  Hakone  mountains ; the 
Taira  brought  a great  army  up  from  the  south  against 
them,  and  the  two  came  at  the  same  moment  to  the 
opposite  banks  of  the  river.  Whichever  tried  to  cross 
to  the  attack  would  be  at  a terrible  disadvantage  in 
that  swift  stream,  and  the  two  armies  lay  on  either 
side  without  daring  to  cross.  In  the  night  an  alarm 
arose;  it  is  said  that  one  of  the  Taira,  foreseeing  that 
the  risiiip;  tide  would  2;ive  an  advantage  to  the  Mina- 
moto,  scared  np  a flock  of  wild  fowl,  which  made  a 
great  commotion  on  the  marshy  flats  near  by,  and  the 
Taira  thought  it  was  an  attack  and  fled.  The  INIina- 
moto  also  withdrew,  and  the  decisive  battles  were 
fouglit  elsewhere. 

In  the  days  of  the  luxurious  Ashikaga  Shoguns  at 
Kamakura,  ])icnic  parties  to  the  neighborhood  of 
INIount  Fuji  were  much  in  vogue.  The  dilettante 
courtiers  no  longer  hunted  and  rode  as  in  Yoritomo’s 
time,  but  amused  themselves  by  composing  poems  of 
the  most  concise  and  conventional  character,  full  of 
punning  allusions  and  double  meanings,  being  often  a 
more  naming  over  of  things  remotely  suggestive,  such 
as — 

“ Spring-time ; a sunny  day ; rocks  on  the  shore  of  the  sea.” 

Or  this : 


A forest  in  autumn;  the  moon  ; a flight  of  storks.' 


102 


JAPAN. 


Two  legends  are  localized  on  the  .shore  near  the  foot 
of  Mount  Fuji,  both  similar  in  general  incidents  to 
stories  found  in  the  folk  literature  of  nearly  all  the 
world,  though  naturally  they  have  certain  distinct  va- 
riations. One  is  the  “ Robe  of  Feather.s,”  the  other 
“ The  Fisher-boy  of  Urashima.”  The  first  is  the  old 
tale  of  the  .stolen  robe,  like  the  mermaid’s  dress  and 
the  fairy  ring  and  the  .sandal-wood  necklace  of  other 
lauds.  A fisherman  finds  on  the  shore  a beautiful  gar- 
ment woven  of  feathers,  shining  in  the  sun ; he  is 
about  to  carry  it  home,  when  a fairy  creature  appears, 
and  implores  him  to  give  it  back  to  her,  for  Avithout 
it,  she  declares,  she  cannot  return  to  her  companions  in 
paradise.  In  a Norse  or  a German  story,  such  as  we 
are  used  to,  the  mortal  Avould  hide  the  robe  and  make 
the  maiden  his  bride,  and  she  Avould  dwell  with  him 
haj)pily  till  some  unlucky  day  she  found  the  dress, 
grew  homesick  and  departed,  with  longing,  backward 
looks  toward  hu.sband  and  children — 

“For  the  cold,  strange  eyes  of  a little  mermaiden, 

And  the  gleam  of  her  golden  hair.” 


Not  SO  the  Japanese.  At  first,  indeed,  he  refuses  to 
give  up  his  prize,  but  at  la.st  consents  to  do  so  if  she 
Avill  dance  for  him.  This  the  fairy  promises  to  do;  so 
she  dons  the  shining  robe,  and  begins  a Avoudrous 
dance.  A famous  No  dance  took  this  tale  for  its  sub- 
ject ; Avhile  the  dancers  represent  the  beautiful  fairy. 


MOUNT  FUJI. 


103 


the  awed  and  delighted  fisherman,  the  singers  chant  a 
lyric  chorus  describing  the  scene : 

“ Lo,  the  rising  sun,  the  golden  gleam  on  Mount  Fuji, 

On  the  shadow  of  Fuji,  reflected  in  the  sea. 

Earth  and  sky  mingle  in  one;  the  magic  form  of  Fuji  rises,  glow- 
ing with  light. 

Dance,  O daughter  of  the  gods ! The  garland  of  thy  hair  floats  in 
the  wind.” 

Rut,  as  site  dances  the  divine  dance,  slowly  she  be- 
gins to  rise,  to  fioat  before  the  fisherman’s  eyes ; up 
and  up,  the  feather  robe  wafting  her  like  a bird — 

“ Over  the  wooded  hill,  overUkushima,  and  the  heights  of  Ashidaka; 

Even  over  Fuji  and  the  eternal  snows; 

Higher  and  higher,  into  the  azure  sky. 

Now  a cloud  enwraps  her;  the  heavenly  one  has  vanished  from 
mortal  sight.” 

“ The  Fi.sher-boy  of  Urashima  ” is  a story  of  some- 
wliat  the  same  order,  and,  too,  he  is  a Rip  Van  Winkle 
with  Pandora’s  box ; his  tale  is  found  in  different  ver- 
sions in  several  parts  of  Japan.  One  day  while  he 
was  out  in  his  boat,  a sudden  storm  overtook  him,  and 
he  was  unable  to  return  to  the  shore.  But  when  he 
gave  up  rowing,  in  despair,  a large  turtle  suddenly 
ai>peared  in  the  waves,  and  said  to  him,  “Get  on  my 
back  ; I will  take  care  of  you.”  The  young  man 
obeyed,  and  the  turtle  went  away  with  him  far  into 
the  depths  of  the  sea,  even  to  the  Jewel  Palace,  where 
ever\’thiug  was  beautiful  as  the  day ; and  there  he  was 


104 


JAPAN. 


welcomed,  and  the  Jewel  Princess  herself  became  his 
bride.  And  they  lived  long  and  happily. 

But,  after  what  seemed  to  him  three  years,  the  young 
man  begged  his  wife  to  let  him  go  back  to  the  world 
and  visit  his  old  home ; for  his  parents  must  be  un- 
happy, thinking  him  dead.  With  great  reluctance 
the  princess  consented ; and  she  sent  him  over  the  sea 
on  the  back  of  the  turtle,  first  giving  him  a little 
casket,  which  she  charged  him  to  keep,  if  he  desired 
to  come  back  to  her ; but  on  no  account  was  he  to  open 
it,  or  he  would  never,  never  return  or  see  her  more. 
All  of  which  he  faithfully  promised  to  ob.serve. 

But  when  he  reached  his  home,  nothing  was  the 
same ; the  village  that  he  knew  had  vanished,  strange 
houses  stood  on  the  familiar  shore,  strange  faces  were 
in  the  doorways ; and  though  he  searched  far  and  near, 
he  could  find  no  trace  of  his  people.  Then,  in  terror 
and  despair,  he  drew  out  the  little  box,  and  regardless 
of  his  wife’s  monitions,  lifted  the  lid.  There  was 
nothing  inside  except  a faint  vapor,  that  floated  out 
and  away  over  the  sea  toward  the  Jewel  Palace ; but 
as  he  looked,  the  young  man’s  knees  trembled  and 
grew  weak ; his  hair  whitened  and  his  face  became 
Avrinkled  and  drawn;  the  centuries  that  had  passed  as 
a dream  bowed  him  to  the  ground,  and  he  sank  dead 
upon  the  shore. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


NAGOYA. 

Nagoya  may  be  a pleasant  town  enough  to  live  in, 
but  it  is  not  an  attractive  or  impressive  place ; it  lies 
too  flat,  and  has  too  many  pretentions  modern  build- 
ings in  “ foreign  ” style — which,  indeed,  give  it  an  air 
of  progress  and  prosperity  of  modern  sort.  It  has, 
moreover,  a population  much  given  to  riding  bicycles, 
wonderful  rattling  structures  of  the  old  high-whecl 
pattern,  thin  as  the  skeletons  of  wheels  and  unblest 
with  any  form  of  rubber  on  their  tires.  After  meet- 
ing a reckless. ’prentice  boy  on  one  of  these  mounts, 
pack  on  back  and  kimono  tails  flying  and  straw  zori 
flipflapping  on  his  bare  toes,  whirling  down  the  street 
through  a crowd  of  foot-passengers,  one  marvels  how 
any  of  the  inhabitants  survive  to  make  the  delicate 
“egg-shell  ” lacquer  which  is  a specialty  of  Nagoya,  or 
the  famous  Owari  porcelain  which  belongs  to  the  whole 
district.  The  term  egg-shell,  by  the  way,  does  not 
mean  thin,  but  is  given  because  the  ware  is  really 
made  of  the  inner  paper-like  membrane  of  a hen’s 
egg,  tiny  fragments  of  which  are  powdered  down  on  a 
fresh  coat  of  lacquer,  just  as  gold-leaf  is  sometimes 

105 


106 


JAPAN. 


placed,  aud  then  dried  in  and  varnished  with  transpa- 
rent lacquer  and  re-poli.shcd,  making  a cloudy  white 
background  for  a decoration  in  gold  or  silver  or  color 
applied  in  the  usual  way ; the  effect  is  delicate  and 
j)retty,  and  the  Japane.se  2>rize  a good  piece  quite 
highly.  The  work  is  nece.ssarily  very  slow,  and  con- 
secjuently  a box  or  tray  of  any  size  is  quite  expensive, 
and  this  may  be  one  rea.son  why  it  is  seldom  sent 
abroad ; indeed,  foreigners  have  never  seemed  to  know 
or  care  much  about  it. 

Nagoya  has  a large  Buddhist  mona.ster}’,  the  Higashi 
Hongwanji,  surrounded  by  high  stone  walls,  the  rt*- 
mains  of  an  old  fortress  which  formerly  .stood  on  its 
site ; the  temple  is  comparatively  modern,  and  eveiy- 
thing  about  it  is  in  the  most  gorgeous  style  of  Bud- 
dhistic art,  from  the  grand  two-storied  gate,  with  its 
elaborate  carvings  and  scrolls  and  diapers,  to  the  great 
hall  divided  into  three  apartments,  and  the  splendors 
of  the  inner  shrine.  Even  the  ceiling  beams  are  siq> 
])orted  on  carved  lotus  leaves  aud  flowers,  aud  the 
ramma  in  the  spaces  above  the  screens  which  divide 
the  compartments  are  decorated  with  gilded  openwork 
figures  of  Buddhist  angels.  The  chief  image  is  a 
figure  of  Amida,  about  two-thirds  of  life  size,  in  a 
magnificent  gilded  shrine. 

iSIuch  less  resplendent,  but  very  quaint  and  interest- 
ing, are  the  figures  of  the  “ Five  Hundred  Eakan  ” in 
a shabby  little  temple  not  far  from  the  Hongwanji. 
The  Rakan  were  the  “chief  companions”  or  di.sciples 


NAGOYA. 


107 


of  Buddha,  and  they  are  great  favorites  with  Japanese 
artists,  whether  in  painting  or  sculpture.  These  partic- 
ular images  are  carved  in  wood,  mostly  about  two  feet 
high,  their  garments  gorgeously  painted ; they  are  of 
all  grades  of  merit,  some  dignified  and  interesting  in 
face  and  attitude,  others  clumsy  or  grotesque  or  inanely 
smiling.  They  are  all  attributed  to  one  man,  but  it  is 
quite  evident  that  only  a few  are  really  his.  However, 
the  variety  of  pose,  feature  and  expression  is  the  most 
astonishing  thing  about  them ; the  Japanese  say  that 
every  man  can  find  among  them  a likeness  of  his  own 
father,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  believe,  for  every  pos- 
sible type  of  Japanese  face  .seems  to  be  represented. 

But  the  great  glory  of  Nagoya  is  its  mediaeval  castle, 
the  finest  of  all  now  left  standing  in  Japan.  It  was 
built  by  Kato  Kiyomasa,  the  general  who  conquered 
Korea  for  Hideyoshi ; Nobimaga  held  it,  though  his 
own  great  castle  was  in  Omi  province,  which  borders 
lake  Biwa,  and  was  destroyed  soon  after  his  death ; 
while  Nagoya,  curiously  enough,  has  never  been  even 
besieged.  When  leyasu  came  into  power,  he  gave  it 
to  one  of  his  sons,  who  established  the  Owari  family, 
one  of  the  Go-San  Ke,  or  Three  Great  Houses,  Kii, 
Owari  and  Mito.  It  remained  in  their  hands  till  all 
such  property  was  turned  over  to  the  government  after 
the  Restoration.  The  enclosure  is  used  for  barracks 
and  officers’  quarters,  and  a special  pass  obtained  be- 
forehand, through  one’s  legation,  is  the  only  means  of 
entrance ; but  it  is  quite  worth  a little  foresight  and 


108 


JAPAN. 


trouble  to  see  and  touch  the  wonderful  walls,  like  those 
of  Yedo  castle,  but  even  more  massive,  and  the  tim- 
bers of  the  great  keep,  which  rises  in  five  .stories,  dimin- 
ishing one  above  another.  Each  story  is  gabled  and 
battlemented,  and  covered  outside  by  an  immense  thick- 
ness of  dazzling  white  plaster;  while  inside  there 
seems  to  be  almost  no  space  at  all,  only  a kind  of 
gallery  around  the  walls  commanding  the  loophole 
windows,  and  a steep  stair.  All  the  rest  of  the  space  is 
taken  up  by  the  enormous  beams,  crossed  and  brace<l 
and  bracketed  together,  black  with  age  and  hard  as 
iron.  The  sense  of  strength,  of  force  immeasurable,  is 
almost  overpowering;  it  gives  the  impression  of  a live 
resistance,  as  a great  piece  of  machinery  does  when  you 
see  it  at  rest.  Under  the  castle  there  is  a deep  well, 
called  the  Golden  AVater,  Avhich  never  fails ; a garrfson 
well  provisioned  with  boiled  and  dried  rice  might  have 
held  out  here  for  months  under  the  old  methods  of 
warfare.  Kato  Kiyomasa  dug  the  well,  and  he  also 
had  the  two  golden  dolphins  cast  for  the  gables  of  the 
tower.  They  will  tell  you  at  Xagoya  how  one  of  the 
two  AA’as  lent  to  the  Vienna  Exposition,  in  1873,  and 
on  the  AA'ay  back  the  ship  which  contained  it  and  a 
number  of  other  treasures  was  wrecked ; but  after 
being  sunk  for  a considerable  time,  she  Avas  rai.sed  and 
the  contents  rescued,  the  lacquer  and  such  things  in 
good  condition ; and  the  dolphin  came  back  to  his 
j)erch  on  the  tOAver,  to  the  good  toAvnspeople’s  great 
satisfaction. 


NAGOYA. 


109 


Gonse  calls  Xobunaga  the  inaugurator  of  a period 
that  may  fairly  be  called  modern ; “ his  military  dic- 
tatorship is  the  bridge  thrown  between  the  vanishing 
power  of  the  Ashikaga  Shoguns  and  the  renovated 
government  of  leyasii.”  He  has  all  the  qualities  of 
the  hero  of  a transition  period — brilliant,  penetrating, 
ambitious,  daring  to  a fault,  eager  for  new  things  and 
ready  to  grasp  them  at  whatever  risk.  In  his  deal- 
ings with  the  Portuguese,  Nobunaga  seems  the  proto- 
tv{)e  of  the  “ Heiji  statesmen  ” — the  men  who  have 
ciiught  hold  of  Western  ideas  and  made  Japan  over 
in  our  own  day.  Physically,  he  was  of  the  Xorth- 
Asiau  type  of  the  Buke — the  military  nobility — tall 
and  slight,  with  aquiline  nose  and  keen  eyes,  and  long, 
oval  face.  Ilis  faults  are  those  of  the  successful 
fighter — high  temper,  favoritism  and  jealousy,  and, 
the  monks  said,  cruelty ; but  it  must  be  remembered 
that  they  had  uo  cause  to  love  Xobunagn,  who  was 
their  enemy  from  first  to  last,  and  actually  broke  their 
power  forever. 

Ota  Xobunaga  was  of  Taira  blood,  a descendant  of 
Kiyomori  himself.  When  the  Taira  were  annihilated 
at  Dan-no-ura,  the  wife  of  one  of  Kiyomori’s  grand- 
sons fled  with  her  baby  son,  and  took  refuge  in  a 
village  near  lake  Biwa,  in  Omi,  where  she  married 
the  headman  of  the  place.  Some  years  after  a Shinto 
priest  from  Echizen  came  that  way,  on  his  return 
from  a julgrimage,  and  seeing  the  headman  had 
several  sons,  asked  him  to  give  one  for  the  priest- 


110 


JAPAN. 


liood.  The  lieadman  accordingly  gave  not  his  ovti, 
blit  his  wife’s  sou.  The  Shinto  priests  marry,  and  the 
prie.sthood  is  usually  hereditary  iu  a family ; young 
Ota  followed  the  custom,  and  founded  a line  which 
became  distinguished,  and  afterward,  as  va.ssals  of 
Shiba,  lord  of  Echizen,  acquired  wealth  and  power. 
When  the  Shiba  family  lost  Echizen,  Nobunaga’s 
grandfather  came  to  Owari,  and,  like  so  many  others 
in  late  Ashikaga  times,  got  possession  of  large  territo- 
ries. They  were  ardent  Imperiali.sts ; Nobunaga’s 
father  spent  largely  from  his  own  means  for  the  repair 
of  the  Emperor’s  palace,  and  of  the  sacred  Shinto 
shrine  at  I.se ; and  Nobunaga  followed  the  same 
example  of  loyalty.  He  was  still  quite  young  when 
one  of  the  neighboring  lords,  who  already  held  Suruga 
and  two  other  provinces,  came  down  with  a great 
army  and  overran  Owari,  taking  most  of  the  fortified 
places.  Thinking  himself  safe,  he  “sat  down,”  as 
our  old  Saxon  chroniclers  used  to  say,  and  made  a 
great  banquet  to  celebrate  his  victories ; and  while  all 
were  drinking  at  ease,  Nobunaga  came  upon  them 
with  a small  force  and  defeated  them  utterly,  killing 
the  ehief  and  destroying  the  prestige  of  the  family. 
Nobunaga  then  made  friends  with  Takeda  Shingen, 
the  enemy  of  the  Uyesugi,  and  also  with  leyasu’s 
family,  the  Matsudaira ; and  with  the  help  of  his 
able  generals,  of  whom  Hideyoshi  and  leyasu  were 
the  chief,  he  obtained  full  control  over  the  empire ; 
but  had  never  the  title  of  Shogun,  probably  becanse 


NAGOYA. 


Ill 


he  was  a Taira,  and  the  Shoguns  had  always  been  of 
the  INIinamoto  family. 

Brilliant  liimself,  the  way  to  Nobunaga’s  heart  was 
by  daring  and  originality.  It  is  said  that  one  of  his 
retainers  greatly  desired  to  rise  in  his  lord’s  favor, 
but  could  find  no  way  to  attract  his  attention.  He 
talked  of  it  with  his  wife,  and  she  bade  him  bide  his 
time,  and  the  chance  would  come.  One  day  he  went 
home  and  told  her  of  a very  fine  horse  which  had 
been  brought  for  sale,  and  which  he  longed  to  buy, 
but  could  not,  because  the  price  was  very  high,  and, 
like  all  good  Samurai,  the  knight  was  anything  but 
rich.  The  wife  asked  carefully  about  it,  and  then 
said,  “You  shall  buy  the  horse;  my  lord  Xobunaga 
lov'es  to  see  his  knights  well  mounted,  and  he  may 
notice  and  praise  you.”  The  Samurai  answered  that 
he  would  gladly  do  so,  if  he  had  the  means ; where- 
upon the  wife  rose,  and  presently  brought  him  a bag 
of  gold-pieces.  When  she  married,  she  told  him,  her 
father  had  given  her  this  money,  bidding  her  use  it 
as  she  had  need.  They  had  often  been  in  dire  pov- 
erty, but  she  would  never  touch  it  for  less  than  the 
most  pressing  necessity ; now  she  had  it  ready.  The 
delighted  husband  bought  the  horse ; the  master’s 
([uick  eye  saw  the  valuable  animal,  and  he  thought  at 
once  that  a man  so  well  equipped  must  be  above  the 
average.  The  young  knight’s  fortune  was  made,  just 
as  the  clever  wife  had  foreseen. 

Of  Xobunagiv’s  first  meeting  with  Hideyoshi  there 


112  JAPAN. 

are  still  more  remarkable  tales.  The  lad  won  his 
Avay  by  audacity  and  impudence  worthy  of  any  city 
gamin.  A peasant’s  son,  he  had  become  the  leader 
of  a band  of  thieves ; he  begged  himself  out  of 
Nobunaga’s  hands  by  a promise  to  steal  something — I 
think  it  was  a certain  valuable  sword — from  the 
master’s  very  side.  The  day  when  the  wager  expired 
had  come,  and  Nobunaga  sat  smiling  over  the  lad’s 
defeat,  when  the  youngster  presented  himself  with  the 
sword.  Kain  was  falling  fast;  under  cover  of  the 
sound  he  had  crept  up  and  made  good  his  boast. 
Nobunaga  made  the  clever  boy  his  groom,  then  cap- 
tain, and  soon  the  chief  of  his  generals. 

But  the  great  fame  of  Owari  rests  not  upon  princes 
or  generals,  but  on  Toshiro  the  potter  and  his  suc- 
cessors, who  followed  the  methods  he  learned  in  China 
in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.  When 
Toshiro  came  back  from  his  studies  there,  he  settled 
at  Seto,  in  Owari,  and  began  to  make  a new  kind 
of  ware,  different  from  anything  hitherto  known  in 
Japan ; and  from  the  name  of  the  town  all  porcelain 
came  to  be  called  setomono  {“  Seto  ware  ”).  At  first 
it  was  only  a glazed  stone-ware,  without  ornament, 
the  form  and  tint  and  the  laying  on  of  the  glaze 
being  all  that  was  attempted  in  the  way  of  beauty ; 
but  later  an  Owari  potter  learned  from  the  makers  of 
Karatsu,  in  the  south,  certain  secrets  of  color,  and  the 
beautiful  blue  Owari  underglaze  was  the  result.  It  is 
a clear,  delicate  color,  laid  on  a fine  bluish-white 


NAGOYA. 


113 


porcelain,  often  made  translucently  thin ; at  times 
they  blend  off  the  blue  mto  an  exquisite  shade  of 
gray,  also  laid  under  the  glaze,  and  particularly 
suited  to  the  landscape  subjects,  the  ducks  flying  over 
the  moon  and  the  like,  in  which  Japanese  art  delights. 

The  cobalt  used  for  the  blue  is  taken  from  a black 
mineral  substance  rather  like  clay,  found  in  lumps  in 
deposits  of  loose  gravel  near  Seto  and  elsewhere  in 
Owari.  The  lumps  are  shaken  in  a coarse  sieve  to 
get  rid  of  the  sand  and  gravel,  and  then  heated  till 
tlie  valuable  part  becomes  peach-red,  when  the  worth- 
less part  is  separated  from  it,  and  the  color  is  ready 
to  be  pulverized,  washed  and  precipitated  with  salt 
water,  and  finally  rinsed  again  before  being  used. 

The  earliest  pottery  found  in  Japan  is  the  much- 
discussed  pre-historic  ware  of  which  I have  already 
spoken,  which  is  found  in  burial  mounds,  and  vari- 
ously attributed  to  the  Ainu,  the  Koropuk-guru,  and 
the  first  Japanese  settlers  themselves.  All  the  knowl- 
edge which  they  received  in  historic  times  the  Japan- 
ese trace  to  the  Koreans,  claiming  that  after  the 
Empress  Jingo’s  conquest  many  Korean  artisans 
settled  in  Japan  by  her  order,  and  that  at  other 
times  otliers  followed,  making  distmet  settlements — 
as,  for  instance,  at  Karatsu,  in  the  province  of  Hizen, 
where  several  families  are  known  to  have  become 
naturalized  about  690.  The  ware  made  by  these 
Korean  potters  was  a simple  kind  of  glazed  stone- 
ware, gray,  brown  or  greenish,  and  in  no  way  decora- 
VoL.  II.— 8 


114 


JAPAN. 


tive.  The  Japanese  had  to  improve  much  upon  their 
teachers  before  anything  very  artistic  could  be  produced. 

All  the  earliest  pottery  was  hand-made.  According 
to  Japanese  tradition,  the  inventor  of  the  wheel  was 
one  Gyogi,  a Buddhist  priest ; some  say  that  he,  too, 
came  from  Korea.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a great 

enthusiast  for  art  and  industry,  and  to  have  gone 

about  the  country  teaching  people  improved  methods. 
A number  of  curious  black  wheel-made  glazed  pots 
and  vases  are  kept  at  Nara,  which  are  attributed  to 
Gyogi,  or  at  least  to  his  time;  but  there  is  good 

evidence  that  the  wheel  was  used  much  earlier  than 

his  period,  which  was  the  end  of  the  seventh  century. 
In  certain  parts  of  southern  Japan  rude  hand-made 
utensils  are  still  produced,  especially  for  the  temple, 
and  no  other  may  be  used  in  the  service.  In  early 
times  the  dishes  used  by  the  Emperor  were  broken 
and  thrown  away  after  each  meal ; to  a much  later 
period  his  clothing  was  never  used  twice. 

The  cha-no-yu  devotees  of  Ilideyoshi’s  time  and 
later  took  great  delight  in  these  archaic  pieces,  and  in 
imitations  of  them,  made  by  the  potters  of  the  time 
with  immense  pains  and  skill.  For  the  tea  ceremony, 
with  its  rules  of  strictest  simplicity,  nothing  but  these 
plain  pieces  would  serve ; but  the  devotees  made  it  up 
by  all  sorts  of  shapes  and  shadings,  of  greenish  glaze 
running  into  the  gray,  of  curious  blendings  on  the 
cloudy  ground,  such  as  only  the  initiated  could  appre- 
ciate. 


NAGOYA. 


115 


From  the  thirteenth  century,  and  particularly  after 
the  middle  of  the  sixteenth,  Chinese  influences  pre- 
dominated ; it  Avas  just  then  that  so  many  Chinese 
refugees  came  to  Japan,  and  then,  too,  that  there  was 
the  most  trade  intercourse  between  the  two  countries. 
The  Japanese  always  greatly  admired  Chinese  porce- 
lain, and  a feast  has  always  been  considered  incomplete 
without  some  unusual  and  beautiful  dishes  to  serve  it 
in.  The  Japanese  potters  frequently  imitated  Chinese 
designs,  but  more  often  modified  them  to  suit  the 
greater  freedom  of  Japanese  line;  still  they  never  at- 
tiiincd  such  perfection  of  material  and  finish  as  their 
more  precise  neighbors. 

In  the  sixteenth  century,  too,  the  Dutch  came  trad- 
ing at  Nagasaki ; and,  like  wise  importers,  did  not  wait 
to  educate  their  market  to  enjoy  a totally  new  style  of 
decoration  ; instead,  they  brought  patterns  and  caused 
the  Japanese  to  make  articles  expressly  to  their  order, 
in  Japanese  way  it  is  true,  but  with  the  coloring  and 
shapes  which  best  pleased  the  European  public.  This 
ware,  known  generally  as  “old  Japan,”  may  be  seen  in 
perfection  in  the  palaces  and  museums  of  Holland,  and 
in  other  European  collections  ; it  was  made  almost  en- 
tirely by  one  or  two  potteries  in  Hizen,  the  province 
in  which  Nagasaki  lay,  and  ver}’  little  of  it  can  have 
stayed  in  Japan. 

Ninsei,  of  Kyoto,  perfected  the  making  of  Japanese 
porcelain.  He  lived  about  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, a generation  after  lemitsu  and  the  building  of 


116 


JAPAN. 


the  Nikko  temples;  and  he  decorated  his  ware  in 
colors  and  gold,  on  a delicate  crackled  background. 
After  him  came  Kenzan,  brother  of  the  great  lacquer 
painter  Korin ; his  pottery  was  less  carefully  made 
than  Ninsei’s,  but  his  color  and  designs  are  accounted 
even  finer.  Then  there  was  the  Kutani  ware  of  Kaga, 
the  earlier  pieces  of  which  were  done  in  a curious  deep 
green  underglaze,  having  rather  the  effect  of  majolica, 
and  the  later  work  in  red  and  gold;  and  Satsuma,  the 
last  pottery  founded  in  old  Japan,  being  originally  a 
colony  of  Koreans,  who  lived  (juite  by  themselves,  and 
were  forbidden  to  marry  out  of  their  own  tribe.  It  is 
one  of  the  most  pleasing  wares,  as  well  as  the  most  in- 
dividual, Avith  its  soft  cream-colored  ground  and  fine 
decoration  of  flowers  just  touched  with  gold.  Much 
of  the  design  imitated  the  old  brocade  patterns,  and  it 
was  sometimes  called  nishiki  yaki,  brocade  Avare.  As 
eA^ery  one  knows,  real  old  Satsuma  is  exceedingly  scarce, 
either  in  or  out  of  Japan ; and  the  pieces,  large  and 
small,  of  Avhich  so  many  Avere  exported  a feAv  years  ago, 
Avere  all  made  at  Ota,  or  at  ShinagaAA’a,  the  southern 
suburb  of  Tokyo.  Some  of  these  pieces  Avere  A’ery 
coai'se  and  Avorthless,  but  much  of  it  AA’as  pretty  enough 
to  liaA'e  stood  on  its  OAvn  merits.  An  exceedingU’’ 
pretty  modern  Avare  is  produced  at  these  Ota  potteries 
for  Japanese  use;  it  has  the  AA’arm  cream- white  ground, 
and  dainty  designs  of  floAA’ers,  all  restrained  and  deli- 
cate, to  suit  Japanese  taste. 

If  the  truth  must  be  told,  Nagoya  is  responsible  for 


NAGOYA. 


117 


a very  large  share  of  the  cheap  trash  that  has  deluged 
the  world  under  the  name  of  “Japanese  china,”  besides 
a good  deal  which,  though  made  for  the  foreign  market, 
is  really  pretty  and  tasteful.  The  very  worst  of  all  is 
the  imitation  Sevres  and  Dresden  produced  in  the  last 
few  years,  mostly,  I am  afraid,  for  the  American  mar- 
ket. The  precise  little  designs  and  briglit  colors  are 
])articularly  unsuitable  for  the  dashing  Japanese  brush, 
and  the  cheap  American  gold  paint  dabbed  down  here 
and  there  adds  to  the  general  badness  of  the  effect. 
But  N agoya  thrives  and  grows  wealthy  on  the  pro- 
ceeds ; so  they  will  doulJless  continue  to  make  it  as 
long  as  the  Americans  will  buy. 

Fine  porcelain  has  been  responsible  for  many  strange 
things.  One  literary  lady  of  the  Tokugawa  period  is 
said  to  have  left  her  husband  because  of  the  family 
china.  Tlicy  had  been  entertaining  some  friends,  and 
the  lady  herself  was  carrying  the  tray  with  certain  fine 
])ieces  from  the  guest  room  to  the  lower  floor,  when 
she  slipped  on  the  staircase  and  fell.  Her  husband 
heard  the  crash,  and  called  out  to  ask — not  if  she  was 
hurt,  but  if  the  china  was  broken  ; madame  was  so 
disgusted  at  his  heartlessness  that  she  declined  to  live 
with  him  any  longer. 

Another  set  of  plates  was  so  very  valuable  that  the 
owner  left  a law  for  his  household  that  any  one  who 
broke  a single  plate  should  have  a finger  cut  off. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  descendants  had  some 
trouble  in  getting  servants  to  undertake  the  dangerous 


118 


JAPAN. 


charge.  Now,  it  happened  once  that  a very  charming 
young  girl  took  the  place,  for  the  .sake  of  the  high 
wages,  because  only  .so  eould  she  support  her  invalid 
mother.  They  were  Samurai,  who  had  lo.st  ever}'- 
thing  on  the  death  of  the  girl’s  father,  and  O Cho 
San  was  good,  pretty,  and  trained  in  the  best  of 
manners,  so  that  she  became  a great  favorite  in  the 
house. 

Now  the  master  had  a sou,  a worthless  young  fellow, 
who  presently  fell  in  love  with  the  pretty  maid,  and 
tried  to  get  her  to  flirt  with  him ; but  when  she  first 
avoided,  and  then,  when  he  pres.sed  her  openly,  refused 
to  listen,  the  youth  grew  angry  and  determined  to  get 
her  into  trouble  and  force  her  to  turn  to  him.  His 
chance  came  when  the  master  gave  a party,  as  he  did 
yearly  to  a few  chosen  friends,  before  whom  he  set  the 
cherished  plates.  O Cho  San  washed  them  carefully, 
counted  them  and  put  them  away  in  the  store-house ; 
but  when  the  master  came  to  inspect,  the  bottom  one 
was  found  broken. 

There  was  a great  excitement.  O Cho  San  pro- 
tested her  innocence,  but  only  begged  that  instead  of 
her  hand,  her  face  might  be  cut,  so  that  she  could  still 
work  and  care  for  her  mother.  Just  then  one  of  the 
other  servants  appeared,  a big,  rough  fellow,  whom 
everybody  knew  to  be  honest  as  the  day ; this  Genza- 
buro  declared  that  he  had  broken  the  plate  himself, 
because  he  was  in  love  with  O Cho  San,  and  did  not 
want  her  to  be  able  to  marry  anybody  else.  They 


J^AGOYA. 


119 


asked  him  how  he  had  done  it,  and  he  said  lie 
had  been  told  to  mend  the  box-lid,  and  as  for  the 
rest,  he  would  show  how  it  was  done  — and  with 
that  he  lifted  up  a great  rice  pestle,  and  brought 
it  down,  smasliing  the  entire  set  of  plates  to  frag- 
ments. 

Every  one  thought  he  was  quite  mad ; but,  begging 
for  a moment’s  hearing,  Genzaburo  declared  that  he 
had  done  this  thing  to  prevent  any  more  wrong ; that 
it  was  monstrous  to  mutilate  a human  being  for  the 
sake  of  a piece  of  china ; and  that,  as  the  ancestor’s 
command  must  be  respected,  the  only  way  to  put  a 
stop  to  it  was  to  break  them  all  at  once.  This  lie  had 
done,  and  he  was  quite  prepared  to  die.  At  this  the 
master’s  son  was  moved  to  shame,  and  confessed  his 
share  in  the  wrong;  the  master  also  was  convinced  by 
Geuzaburo’s  arguments,  and  not  only  forgave,  but 
raised  him  in  his  service,  and  also  rewarded  O Clio 
San  for  her  devotion  to  her  mother. 

I consider  this  story  typically  Japanese;  first,  in 
that  it  is  nowhere  stated  that  O Cho  San  married  Gen- 
zaburo— whose  sudden  affection  proved  to  be  as  much 
a fiction  as  his  breaking  of  the  first  plate — or  the 
master’s  son,  or  anybody  else — a climax  no  Western 
narrator  could  have  spared  without  intense  regret,  if 
compelled  by  strict  accuracy  to  leave  it  out ; and  also 
because  it  illustrates  what  a Japanese  writer  has  lately 
declared  conceniing  Japanese  character  : “ Scarcely  a 
Japanese,  however  lowly  his  origin  or  humble  his 


120 


JAPAN. 


station,  lacks  the  conviction  that  he  carries  a natural 
mandate  to  redress  wrong  in  a superior,  and  that  the 
method  of  redress  depends  upon  his  own  choice,  pro- 
vided that  his  failure  in  submission  be  compensated 
by  strength  of  sincerity — the  co-ordinates  of  loyal 
obedience.’’ 


CHAPTER  VII. 


GIFU. 

One  of  the  marvels  of  Nagoya  castle  is  that  it 
stood  almost  without  a crack  through  the  great  earth- 
quake of  1892,  which  sent  the  uew  brick  telegraph 
and  post  offices  and  other  European  buildings  crashing 
like  a child’s  block  tower  when  you  shake  the  table  it 
stands  on.  It  was  not  one,  but  a succession  of  shocks 
following  each  other  every  few  minutes  for  a day  or 
two,  some  slight,  others  very  violent,  and  of  the 
sudden  “jumping”  kind  that  tries  even  the  stoutest 
building.  This  part  of  the  country  was  the  centre  of 
the  disturbance,  and  thousands  of  houses  fell  both  in 
Nagoya  and  Gifu,  the  only  large  towns  in  the  district, 
and  in  the  many  lesser  places  round  about.  Naturally 
the  buildings  that  suflFered  most  were  the  so-callcd 
“ foreign  ” houses,  with  brick  chimneys,  which  crashed 
through  the  roofs  and  wrought  destruction  in  nearly 
every  case.  The  lesson  has  been  learned,  though  at 
grievous  cost,  and  special  precautions  are  taken  now 
to  safeguard  the  deadly  chimney,  except  in  the  Hok- 
kaido, where  so  far  earthquakes  are  much  less  frequent 
and  violent  than  in  the  main  island  or  southward. 

121 


122 


JAPAN. 


People  say  that  the  centre  of  frequent  disturbance  is 
moving  northward  ; it  may  be  merely  a popular 
notion,  but  this  much  is  certain,  the  great  shocks  of 
the  last  quarter  century  have  been  successively  north 
of  each  other — Xagoya,  Tokyo,  Akibi,  the  tidal  wave 
on  tlie  northeast  coast,  and  at  Hakodate,  a few  years 
ago,  the  heaviest  shake  on  record  for  the  Hokkaido. 
Even  in  the  Nagoya  earthquake  Japanese  hoases  did 
not  fall,  unless  they  were  old  and  out  of  repair ; then 
the  supports  frequently  gave  way,  and  the  great  roof 
came  down  bodily,  im|)risoning  the  inmates,  who  were 
often  taken  out  unhurt.  Some  broke  through  the 
tiles  and  made  their  escape.  Fire  came  to  add  to 
the  horror,  and  the  loss  of  life  in  both  cities  was  very 
great. 

Gifu  is  the  capital  of  what  was  Mmo  province,  and 
is  now  Gifu  prefecture ; its  specialty  is  paper,  and  all 
that  can  be  made  of  paper,  particularly  lanterns  of  a 
very  decorative  kind,  made  of  a very  thin,  tough 
tissue,  and  often  beautifully  painted.  Lanterns  are  an 
absolute  essential  of  Japanese  life,  from  the  common 
oil  paper  variety  in  everyday  use  to  the  elaborate 
bronze  ones  of  the  temples,  where  the  light  has  become 
so  small  in  proportion  to  the  stand  that  it  is  merely  a 
symbol  of  the  Light  of  Wisdom.  At  all  festivals 
lanterns  are  hung  in  long  chains  across  the  street ; not 
the  many-colored  ones  Avhich  we  use  for  an  out-door 
fete,  but  a plain  ball  of  yellowish  oiled  paper,  with 
some  symbol  painted  on  it  in  red ; most  often  nowa- 


GIFU. 


123 


(lays  the  red  ball  of  the  rising  sun,  the  national 
emblem.  Everybody  has  a name  or  mon  (crest)  painted 
on  the  side  of  the  one  he  or  she  carries  in  the  streets 
at  night.  One  of  the  regulations  on  the  passports 
which  used  to  amuse  foreigners  was  that  they  were  to 
bind  themselves  not  to  go  to  a fire  on  horseback  nor 
without  a light. 

The  kururaaya’s  lantern  is  an  ingenious  affair ; he 
needs  to  fold  it  up,  in  order  to  put  it  away  under  the 
seat  of  his  carriage,  and  yet  it  must  be  stiff  enough  to 
fasten  to  the  shafts,  and  leave  his  hands  free.  This 
is  accomplished  by  a cleverly  made  handle  bent  at  the 
two  ends,  one  of  which  fits  into  a groove  under  the 
wooden  bottom  of  the  lantern,  and  the  other  is 
attached  by  a chain  to  the  top  ring  when  the  paper 
part  has  been  unfolded.  The  handle  is  of  tough 
wood,  and  has  to  be  bent  a little  like  a bow  to  fasten 
the  chain,  so  that  it  holds  the  lantern  stiffly  open. 
The  candles  are  made  of  vegetable  wax,  and  have  a 
thick  wick  of  twisted  paper ; the  lower  end  has  a 
hole  to  stick  on  a spike  in  the  bottom  of  the  lantern. 
It  is  marvelous  how  even  a little  candle-end  will  keep 
alight  in  wind  and  rain,  as  the  man  pulls  you  splash- 
iim  throut>rh  the  streets. 

At  one  of  the  teni])les  in  the  sacred  province  of 
Yamato  there  is  a lantern  called  the  Poor  Woman’s 
Single  Lamp.  Its  legend  is  that  on  some  great  occa- 
sion the  people  of  the  neighborhood  were  all  giving 
lamps’  to  the  temple ; and  a very  rich  man  gave  a 


124 


JAPAN. 


tliousand  great  ones,  making  a lavish  display  of  his 
wealth  and  j^iety.  But  among  the  common  people 
there  was  one  poor  woman  who  had  nothing  at  all  to 
give ; but  she  cut  olf  her  long  hair,  and  by  selling 
that  managed  to  get  enough  money  to  buy  one  poor 
little  light.  So  on  the  night  of  the  festival  all  the 
lamps  were  lighted,  and  the  rich  man’s  thousand  .shone 
brilliantly,  and  all  the  world  admired  and  praised 
him.  But  while  they  were  looking  a .sudden  gale  of 
wind  rose  and  swept  through  the  open  galleries  and 
blew  out  every  light  save  only  one  little  forgotten 
lamp,  which  shone  as  never  candle  shone  before.  Then 
they  looked  and  found  who  had  given  it ; and  they 
knew  that  the  poor  woman’s  sacrifice  had  been  more 
acceptable  than  all  that  the  rich  man  gave  of  his 
abundance. 

Foreigners  often  stop  at  Gifu  to  see  the  very  curious 
spectacle  of  the  cormorant  fishing  at  night  on  the 
river.  The  birds  are  used  in  this  way  in  other  places 
in  Japan,  but  nowhere  to  such  an  extent  or  so  skill- 
fully as  on  the  Kisogawa.  It  is  an  exceedingly  old 
custom,  for  the  ancient  chronicle,  the  Kojiki,  makes 
mention  of  cormorants  being  kept  and  used  for  fishing 
in  the  time  of  the  Divine  Ancestors.  They  catch  the 
young  birds  with  limed  twigs  at  their  feeding  places 
along  the  shores  of  Owari  bay,  cage  them  and  tame 
them,  and  train  them  to  the  business  while  quite 
young,  or,  rather,  have  the  old  birds  train  them.  They 
say  a good  old  bird  will  train  a number  of  young  ones 


GIFU. 


125 


at  once.  They  all  know  their  names,  which  are  not 
strictly  names  either,  but  numbers,  by  which  the 
master  addresses  them,  and  they  also  understand  their 
turns  perfectly  well ; thus  the  oldest  and  wisest  bird 
is  quite  aware  that  he  is  Ichi-bau,  Number  One,  and 
claims  all  his  privileges,  making  a great  fuss  if  he  is 
not  first  fed  and  last  to  go  into  the  water  to  work,  and 
first  out  of  it  again — and  last  to  enter  the  pen,  too, 
when  they  all  go  home  to  their  cages  in  the  village. 

The  fishing  is  all  done  at  night — not  on  moonlight 
niglits,  either,  as  it  would  not  be  dark  enough  for  the 
lights  to  draw  the  fish.  The  boats  start  about  three 
miles  up  the  river,  above  Gifu,  and  float  down  with 
the  current,  a whole  fleet  of  them  together,  one  man 
in  the  stern  managing  each  boat.  Visitors  who  stop 
at  Gifu  to  see  them,  take  supper  at  the  inn  and  after- 
wards hire  a boat  and  lie  out  in  the  stream  to  wait  till 
they  come  down — often  a weary  time;  for,  while  it 
may  be  nine  o’clock,  more  often  it  is  midnight  before 
they  appear. 

The  first  token  is  a faint  red  glow  far  up  the  stream  ; 
gradually  it  increases  and  separates  into  a dozen  or 
more  centres  of  flame,  coming  from  as  many  great 
iron  baskets  filled  with  blazing  jfitch-pine,  each  hung 
by  an  iron  arm  from  the  bow  of  the  boat.  It  is  a 
weird  scene ; the  wavering  lights  flash  far  out  over 
the  river,  and  the  fish  gather  to  it  as  moths  come 
round  a lamp,  or  catfish  to  our  Pennsylvania  boys, 
when  they  go  out  “ bobbing  ” on  the  pond.  In  each 


126 


JAPAN. 


boat  one  man  stands  banging  on  a bamboo  clapper 
and  shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  which  is  intended 
to  encourage  the  birds ; they  are  held,  like  dogs  in  a 
leash,  diving  and  squattering  aroimd  the  bow  of  the 
boat.  The  master  stands  forward,  handling  as  many 
as  twelve  birds,  and  a second  man  behind  has  three  or 
four  more.  Each  bird  has  a ring  round  its  neck,  just 
large  enough  to  let  through  small  fish  and  keep  back 
big  ones.  As  soon  as  one  has  stuffed  its  throat — 
which  requires  only  a few  minutes — the  master  lifts 
the  great  creature  out  of  the  water,  and,  with  a quick 
squeeze,  makes  it  disgorge  the  fish,  and  throws  it  back 
again  ; four  fish  is  the  usual  take  each  time.  As  this 
process  is  repeated  on  an  average  four  times  a minute, 
and  each  cormorant  is  as  big  as  a goose  and  j)lunges 
about  vigorously  at  the  end  of  its  string,  it  may  be 
suj^posed  that  he  who  handles  twelve  birds  has  a 
lively  time  of  it. 

When  they  get  opposite  Gifu  the  work  is  over  for 
the  night ; the  boats  are  run  ashore  and  the  cormorants 
are  made  to  stand  up,  like  a row  of  soldiers,  on  the 
gunwale,  each  in  its  own  place ; if  they  have  not  had 
enough  supper,  the  master  feeds  them  in  turn  with  the 
smaller  fish.  It  is  said  the  birds  are  kindly  treated 
and  well  taken  care  of;  even  though  the  season  is 
only  five  months  and  the  birds  must  be  fed  all  winter, 
a well-trained  cormorant  is  very  valuable  property, 
and  is  looked  after  accordingly.  Which  leads  one  to 
speculate  whether  economic  causes  may  not  some  day 


GIFU. 


127 


help  matters  for  the  poor,  ill-tempered,  ill-used  horses 
of  Japan — almost  the  only  creatures  to  whom  the 
Japanese  are  really  cruel. 

The  province  of  Mino  was  one  of  which  Nobunaga 
got  po.ssession,  and  he  built  a large  castle  near  the 
present  town  of  Gifu.  Little  is  left  now  but  the 
traces,  on  a hill  which  commands  a beautiful  view  of 
the  country  round.  The  most  noted  historical  place 
in  the  province,  however,  is  leyasu’s  great  battle-field, 
Sekigahara,  which  lies  between  tlie  hills  a little  to  the 
west  of  Gifu. 

The  place  is  called  Sekigahara,  Moor  of  the  Bar- 
rier, because,  from  old  tirne.s,  one  of  the  outposts 
stood  here ; doubtless  one  of  those  originally  placed 
ag  iin.st  the  Ainu,  and  the  clans  not  yet  under  the 
control  of  the  Yamato  rulers,  and  mainhiincd  after- 
ward to  keep  any  one  from  suddenly  marching  on 
Kyoto.  The  great  struggle  took  place  in  IGOO,  be- 
tween leyasu,  who  had  already  gained  all  the  northern 
provinces,  and  Hideyoshi’s  son,  Hideyori,  who  held 
Osaka  castle  and  continually  plotted  against  the  Toku- 
gawa.  The  historians  give  accounts  of  a tremendous 
fight,  more  than  eighty  thousand  men  on  Ieya,su’s  side 
and  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  on  the  other ; 
the  plain  was  red  with  blood,  and  the  Osaka  army 
retired  with  a loss  of  thirty  thousand.  It  is  sjjid 
that  the  battle  was  decided  by  a portion  of  Hideyori’s 
allies  going  over  to  leyasu  during  the  fight. 

It  was  Teyasu’s  notion  to  go  into  this  battle  without 


128 


JAPAN. 


a helmet.  When  the  victory  was  won,  he  sat  down  on 
a folding  stool,  and,  ordering  his  helmet  to  be  brought, 
put  it  on  and  carefully  tied  the  strings.  It  was 
doubtless  intended  as  an  object-lesson  to  his  followers; 
and  certainly  he  did  indeed  tighten,  not  relax,  his 
vigilance  after  this  battle. 

Nearly  all  the  remaining  lords  now  came  to  him  and 
made  submission.  leyasu  proceeded  to  re-apportion 
the  provinces  of  the  empire,  dividing  them  according 
to  the  attitude  of  the  Daimyo  toward  himself.  He 
classed  them  all  as  Fudai  and  Tozama;  the  first  Avere 
those  Avho  had  been  allied  with  him  before  Sekigahara  ; 
the  latter  those  who  joined  him  afterwards ; and  the 
first  class  had  a number  of  privileges  denied  to  the 
Tozama  barons.  Under  the  Shogun’s  direct  sway 
were  the  provinces  of  the  KAvanto,  around  and  north 
of  Yedo  (Tokyo) ; Kyoto  likeAAuse  AAas  guarded  by  a 
ring  of  nobles  faithful  to  the  TokugaAva  house,  and 
finally  the  Tozama  AA’ere  so  placed  that  they  could  not 
command  the  lines  of  intercourse  betAAeen  the  tAvo 
capitals.  Thus,  although  the  Fudai  nobles  AAere  often 
possessed  of  smaller  fiefs  than  the  Tozama,  they  held 
fiir  more  influential  positions.  By  his  neAV  distribu- 
tion of  the  country,  there  Avere  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
seven  Daimyo — the  number  AA'as  afterAAards  raised  to 
a little  OA’er  three  hundred — and  of  these,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifteen  Avere  direct  A’assals  of  the  TokugaAAa 
familv.  As  a Japanese  AA^iter  points  out,  it  Avas  not 
like  planning  a house  or  a garden ; the  interests  of 


GIFU. 


129 


each  had  to  be  consulted,  rewards  and  punishments 
meted  out  with  at  least  a show  of  justice;  the  pow- 
erful conciliated,  the  weak  overawed.  The  process 
took  years  to  complete. 

It  is  recorded  that  when  leyasu’s  grandson,  lemitsu, 
came  to  the  Shogunate,  he  summoned  to  the  palace  at 
Yedo  all  the  Tozama  lords  and  declared  to  them  that 
henceforth  he  proposed  to  place  them  on  the  same 
footing  as  the  Fudai  nobles.  ‘‘  My  ancestor,”  he  told 
them,  “ having  been  originally  of  the  same  rank  as 
yourselves,  and  having  been  enabled  to  pacify  the 
country  through  your  assistance,  was  prompted  by  a 
sentiment  of  deference  from  classing  you  with  the 
Fudai  barons.  But  I differ  from  my  ancestor,  in  the 
fact  that  I was  born  to  the  position  which  he  acquired, 
and  I am  under  no  obligation  to  ])reservc  any  distinc- 
tion. Should  tills  resolve  be  displeasing  to  any  of 
you,  an  intervail  of  three  years  will  be  given  you  to 
consider  the  matter  quietly  on  your  own  estates ; dur- 
ing that  time  you  will  lie  c.xpected  to  come  to  a final 
decision.”  To  this  speech,  which  amounted  to  a request 
for  a tresh  declaration  of  fealty,  tlie  Shogun  added 
the  gift  of  a sword  to  each  Daimyo,  reminding  them  of 
tlie  creed  of  the.  Samurai,  that  they  should  guard  with 
weapons  of  war  what  was  taken  by  that  means.  Both 
Fudai  and  Tozama  acquie.sced  quietly  to  this  pro- 
po.sal,  and  the  work  of  consolidation  was  done. 

VoL.  II.— 9 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE  SHRINES  OF  ISE. 

“ What  it  is 
That  (Iwelleth  here 
I know  not; 

Yet  my  heart  is  full  of  gratitude, 

And  the  tears  trickle  down.” 

Saigo,  Priest  of  Ise.  Aston’s  translation. 

“ Think  not  that  God  is  something  afar  off,  but  seek  for  him  in 
your  own  heart;  for  the  heart  is  the  abode  of  God.” 

Kiuso.  Aston’s  translation. 

“ Pay  no  heed  to  the  praise  or  blame  of  fellow-men ; but  so  act 
that  you  need  not  be  ashamed  before  the  Gods  of  the  Unseen.  . . . 
If  you  desire  to  practice  true  virtue,  learn  to  stand  in  awe  of  the 
Unseen  ; it  will  prevent  you  from  doing  wrong.  Make  a vow  to  the 
God  who  rules  over  the  Unseen,  and  cultivate  the  conscience  im- 
planted in  you,  and  thus  you  will  never  wander  from  tlie  Way.” 
Ilirata  Atsutaue.  Japanese  translation,  Anon. 

It  will  hardly  he  .“safe  to  compare  Ise  with  Delphi, 
and  yet  the  Shrine  of  the  Sun  Goddess  in  Ahunato 
has  had  something  of  the  same  unifying  influence  on 
the  nation  that  Apollo’s  had  over  Greece — the  same 
in  kind,  though  by  no  means  in  degree ; to  note  only 
one  difference,  in  Japan  the  political  side  of  religion, 
so  to  speak,  was  altogether  usurped  by  the  imported 

lao 


THE  SHEINES  OF  ISE. 


131 


Buddhism.  Nevertheless,  this  temple,  which  is  held 
to  be  the  oldest  in  Japan,  was  so  very  sacred  that 
Buddhism,  with  all  its  prestige,  scarcely  touched  any 
of  its  rites  or  traditions ; for  it  goes  back  to  the  very 
Age  of  the  Gods,  and  the  mirror  of  the  Sun  Goddess 
herself  is  kept  in  the  innermost  shrine. 

Concerning  this  mirror,  tradition  relates  that  when 
Amaterasu  sent  her  grandson  Ninigi,  ancestor  of  the 
first  Emperor  Jimmu  Tenno,  to  make  peace  on  the 
earth  and  conquer  the  demons  and  evil  spirits,  she 
gave  him  “the  Jewel,  the  Mirror,  and  the  Sword” 
(the  one  that  her  brother  Susa-no-o  took  from  the 
body  of  the  eight-headed  dragon),  saying,  “ This 
mirror  is  my  spirit ; regard  it  as  myself.”  Therefore 
it  is  that  these  precious  things  are  the  insignia  of  her 
descendants ; but,  as  has  been  already  noted,  in  the 
second  century  the  Emperor  Sujin,  fearing  they  might 
be  accidentally  polluted,  sent  them  to  a certain  shrine, 
after  having  fac-similes  made  to  preserve  in  the 
l)alace  as  the  tokens  of  the  imperial  rule ; and  from 
that  shrine  they  were  afterwards  removed  to  Ise, 
whei'e  the  mirror  remains,  the  sword  having  been  sent 
on  to  Atsuta,  near  Nagoya,  where  it  now  is.  The 
mirror  probably  signifies  the  female,  and  the  sword 
the  male  principle,  much  as  some  American  Indians 
represent  a woman  by  a water-jar  and  a man  by  a 
knife  or  an  arrow. 

The  temple  of  the  mirror  is  called  the  Naiku,  or 
Inner  temple ; the  other  is  the  Geku,  or  Outer,  and  is 


132 


JAPAN. 


thouglit  less  sacred  than  that  of  the  Sun  Goddess; 
but  this,  too,  belongs  to  one  of  the  earlie.st  cults — the 
woi'ship  of  earth  and  the  creator  of  food.  They 
stand  at  a considerable  distance  apart,  surrounded  by 
beautiful  trees,  and  a])proached  through  wooden  torii 
of  the  plainest  early  shape,  the  supports  resting  on  the 
ground  and  not  in  sockets,  and  the  single  cro.s.s-beam 
perfectly  .straight.  These  two  teini)les  only  their 
sj)ec‘ial  priests  may  approach,  or  the  descendants  of 
the  gods,  the  members  of  the  imperial  family.  Till 
the  fourteenth  century  a virgin  prie.ste.ss  of  the  hou.se 
was  always  in  charge  of  the  “ eight- petaled  ” mirror 
of  the  sun,  but  since  then  the  rule  has  been  less 
rigidly  enforced. 

The  cu.stom,  however,  is  not  a little  suggestive  of 
the  virgin  priestesses  of  Vesta  and  the  Roman  fire 
rites.  And  just  as  Lanciaui  has  traced  back  the 
temple  of  Vesta  at  Rome  to  the  round  straw  huts  of 
the  half-nomad  Latins,  Sir  Ernest  Satow  carries  these 
tc'mples  at  Ise  back  to  a pre-historic  Japane.se  hou.se, 
raised  a little  on  posts,  thatch-roofcxl  and  wattled,  its 
floor  of  bare,  beaten  earth,  partly  .surrounded  by  a 
low  platform,  where  doubtless  the  members  of  the 
family  sat.  In  the  temples  the  platform  has  already 
spread  over  the  whole  space,  but  it  may  be  in  memory 
of  the  primitive  type  of  dwelling  that  at  certain 
times  the  Emperor  must  worship  his  ancestors 
“ .standing  upon  the  earth  ” — a necessity  that  was 
cleverly  provided  for  at  the  imperial  palace  in  Kyoto 


THE  SHEINES  OF  ISE. 


133 


by  cementing  one  corner  of  the  great  hall  and  strew- 
ing it  daily  with  fresh  sand  for  the  morning  invoca- 
tions. In  a series  of  drawings  of  peasant  houses 
owned  by  Dr.  Nitobe,  a good  slice  of  the  bare  ground 
often  remains  not  floored  over ; but  in  most  houses 
all  that  is  left  is  the  small  vestibule  where  shoes  are 
taken  off — a rudiment,  as  the  anatomists  would  say, 
of  the  original  state  of  the  house.  It  is  most  prob- 
able, too,  that  another  prototype  may  be  found  in  the 
rude  dwellings  of  a Malay  campong  (East  English, 
“compound”),  which  are  rough  straw  huts,  raised  on 
]iiles  above  the  side  of  some  bay  or  river,  no  doubt 
for  bettor  defence  from  animals  and  hostile  tribes,  as 
you  see  them,  for  instance,  at  Singapore.  The  super- 
ficial resemblance  is  certainly  strong,  and  becomes 
closer  in  the  case  of  the  temples  than  of  ordinary 
Japanese  houses,  because,  as  Sir  Erne.st  Satow  points 
out,  the  earliest  temples  had  their  supports  set  into 
the  ground,  not  merely  on  it,  as  is  done  at  the  present 
day. 

One  of  the  unique  and  curious  customs  at  Iso  is 
that  the  two  chief  temples,  the  Xaiku  and  the  Geku, 
must  be  pulled  down  and  rebuilt  at  the  end  of  every 
twenty  years,  “ that  our  Fatherland  may  be  happy, 
and  that  the  five  fruits  of  the  field  may  ])rosper.”  It 
would  seem  that  the  underlying  thought  was  that  of 
keeping  away  any  touch  of  decay  or  imperfection 
from  the  sacred  place.  Each  temple  has  therefore  a 
pair  of  sites,  and  goes  fi’om  one  to  the  other  alter- 


K34 


JAPAN. 


nately.  When  the  old  building  is  pulled  douTi,  the 
wood  is  broken  up  into  little  pieces  and  .sold  in  tiny 
packets  as  charms  against  disease  and  misfortune. 
Every  smallest  detail  of  the  old  temple  is  copied  in 
the  mo.st  minute  way,  and  always  has  been,  so  far 
back  as  our  knowledge  goes ; so  that  these — say, 
seven-thousandth  descendants  of  the  original  temples 
— are  probably  very  close  fac-similes  of  what  stood 
here  some  fifteen  hundred  years  ago.  The  builders, 
while  at  work  on  such  temples,  must  follow  a certain 
rule  of  life;  they  must  go  to  their  work  “ washen, 
barefoot  and  in  white,”  and  there  are  rules,  b)o,  for 
the  use  of  tools  and  materials.  leyasu  decreed  that 
the  Daimyo  of  Owari  and  of  Kiushiu  should  provide 
the  hinoki  wood  used  to  rebuild  tlie  Ise  temples. 

All  of  which  would  be  highly  interesting  and 
instructive  if  one  were  allowed  to  see  it — if  it  were 
not  all  so  supremely  sacred  as  to  be  hidden  away  be- 
hind a series  of  palisades  and  groups  of  trees,  through 
which  only  the  priests  may  pass,  and  which  allow  you 
merely  a tantalizing  glimpse  of  thatched  roof  and  the 
crossed  ends  of  the  gable  rafters  projecting  through 
it — suggestion  of  the  time  when  these  supjxtrts  were 
tied  together,  as  the  Ainu  tie  them  now.  Even  the 
Japanese  pilgrim  must  be  content  to  gaze  only  on  the 
outside  of  his  holy  of  holies,  and  enjoy  instead  the 
very  beautiful  landscape  through  which  he  journeys 
to  the  shrine.  The  way  there  is  by  rail  from  Kyoto, 
or  by  a little  steamer  across  Owari  bay,  and  then  by 


THE  SHRINES  OF  ISE. 


135 


kuruma  to  Yamada,  the  town  which  exists  solely  by 
and  for  Ise  and  the  pilgrims  thither.  All  about  here 
the  coast  is  most  picturesque,  the  groves  of  camphor 
and  cryptomeria  wonderful,  even  in  this  country  of 
beautiful  forests. 

We  are  used  to  the  myth  of  Chronos  and  the  birth 
of  Athene,  and  many  another  tale  wliosc  grossness  has 
been  transformed  or  overlaitl  by  the  beauty  of  Greek 
art  and  poetry ; but  the  Japanese  account  of  the  crea- 
tion of  things  has  come  down  to  us  in  all  its  crudity, 
bald  and  grotescpic  almcxst  as  the  beliefs  of  the  North 
American  ludinns.  At  first,  say  the  Kojiki  and  tlie 
Nihongi,  all  the  world  was  chaos,  a dreary  waste  of 
half-liquid  mud,  till  the  gods  above  sent  down  the 
creator  pair,  Isanagi  and  Isanami,  to  make  the  earth. 
Then  Isanagi  and  Isanami  came  down  and  stood  on 
the  Bridge  of  Heaven,  and  thrust  down  a jeweled 
spear  into  the  mud,  and  flung  out  the  half-liquid 
drops  tliat  clung  to  it;  and  the  drops  became  the 
islands  of  reed-growing  Japan. 

After  this  various  and  wonderful  things  hajipencd  ; 
several  gods  and  goddesses  were  born,  and  last  of  all 
the  Fire  God,  at  whose  birth  Isanami  died.  IFcr  hus- 
band made  a journey,  Orpheus-like,  to  bring  her  back 
from  the  under  world,  aud  found,  and  was  in  the  act 
of  returning  with  her,  Avhen,  like  Orpheus,  he  dis- 
obeyed orders  and  turned  to  look  at  what  he  carried  ; 
and  seeing  the  horrible  corpse,  he  drop[)ed  it  in  terror 
and  fled.  Being  thus  unclean,  he  bathed  in  a river 


136 


JAPAN. 


to  purify  himself,  and  as  he  did  so  various  divinities 
were  born  from  the  touch  of  the  water.  The  Sun 
Goddess  Amaterasu  sprang  from  his  right  eye,  the 
]\Ioon  God  from  his  left,  and  the  very  troublesome 
and  unruly  Wind  God  Susa-no-o  from  his  nose  or 
breath. 

Later  there  were  other  gods  and  demi-gods  created, 
such  as  Prince  Fire  Shine  and  Prince  Fire  Fade,  and 
Ninigi,  the  grandson  of  Amaterasu,  who  married  the 
daughter  of  an  earth  god  and  became  the  ancestor  of 
Jimmu  Tenno;  and  the  fo(xl  goddess,  an  uncouth 
Demeter,  who  made  rice  and  fish  and  game  to  enter- 
tiiin  the  Moon  God,  only  to  be  slain  by  the  ungrateful 
guest,  because  he  said  she  gave  him  unclean  food ; 
whereat  the  Sun  Goddess  was  very  wroth,  and  jmn- 
ished  the  Moon  God ; but  “ from  the  body  of  the  mur- 
dered Earth  sprang  cattle  and  horses,  millet,  silk- 
worms, rice,  barley  and  beans.”  So  says  Chamberlain, 
quoting  from  the  Kojiki  and  Xihongi. 

The  story  of  Prince  Fire  Shine  and  Prince  Fire 
Fade  is  one  into  which  wise  people  read  a great  many 
things,  such  as  the  conflict  between  the  hill  tribes  and 
the  coast  tribes,  the  hunting  and  the  fishing  popula- 
tion ; it  also  concerns  the  palace  of  the  Dragon  King 
under  the  sea,  which  appears  in  so  many  Japanese 
legends. 

The  two  princes  were  brothers,  sons  of  Xinigi  and 
the  dau2:hter  of  the  earth  god.  Prince  Fire  Shine 
was  a fisherman,  and  possessed  many  fine  hooks  and 


THE  SHRINES  OF  ISE.  137 

caught  much  fish  ; his  brother  was  a hunter,  who  killed 
beasts  and  birds  upon  the  mountains. 

One  day  Prince  Fire  Fade  said  to  his  brother,  “ I 
am  minded  to  go  a-fishing ; do  thou  lend  me  thy 
hooks,  and  I will  lend  thee  my  bow  and  spear,  where- 
with to  hunt  things  large  and  small.”  So  Prince  Fire 
Shine  consented,  and  took  the  bow  and  spear  and  went 
to  the  mountains,  and  killed  much  game.  But  Prince 
Fire  Fade  fished  and  fislied,  yet  he  caught  nothing; 
and  at  last  lie  lost  one  of  the  hooks  in  the  sea. 

When  Prince  Fire  Sliine  returned,  and  Prince 
Fire  Fade  told  liiin  what  he  had  done,  he  was  very 
angry.  Then  Ihancc  Fire  Fade  took  liis  spear,  and 
beat  it  out,  and  made  many  hooks  for  his  bi’otlier;  but 
Prince  Fire  Shine  woukl  not  be  appeased,  and  demanded 
his  own  hook  again.  And  seeing  there  was  nothing 
else  to  be  done.  Prince  Fire  Fade  plunged  into  the 
sea  to  look  for  it. 

He  Slink  down  and  down  into  the  waves,  but  sud- 
denly a sea  monster  came  to  him  and  bore  him  up, 
and  took  him  to  the  Jewel  Palace,  where  the  Dragon 
King  received  him  kindly;  and  when  he  heard  the 
Prince’s  story,  lie  sent  to  all  the  fishes  (wlio  were 
his  subjects)  and  a.skcd  if  any  of  tlicm  had  .seen  the 
fish-liook ; and  by  and  by  a large  fish  came  and 
brought  it. 

Then  Prince  Fire  Fade  was  glad,  and  would  have 
gone  back  to  his  brother;  but  the  Dragon  King  in- 
vited him  to  stay,  and  offered  him  his  daughter,  the 


138 


JAPAN. 


Jewel  Princess.  So  Prince  Fire  Fade  married  her, 
and  lived  liappily  under  the  sea. 

Then,  when  he  Avished  to  return,  the  Dragon  King 
gave  him  the  two  jewels  that  control  the  tide,  the  ebb- 
tide jewel  and  the  flood-tide  jewel ; and  the  sea  mon- 
ster bore  him  on  its  back  through  the  waves  to  the 
earth  again. 

But  when  Prince  Fire  Shine  saAv  his  brother  retimi- 
ing  he  was  again  angry,  and  threatened  to  kill  him. 
Then  Prince  Fire  Fade  raised  the  flood-tide  jewel ; 
and  as  lie  held  it  u]i  the  water  came  flowing  up  over 
the  shore,  higher  and  higher,  and  Prince  Fire  Shine 
cried  out  in  terror,  and  begged  Prince  Fire  Fade  to 
spare  him.  So  the  Prince  lifted  up  the  ebb-tide  jewel, 
and  the  sea  went  back  to  its  own  place.  And  Prince 
Fire  Shine  saw  that  his  brother  Avas  stronger,  and  he 
made  submission  to  him.  After  that  Prince  Fire  Fade 
built  a little  hut  on  the  shore,  and  listed  there  A\dth 
the  JeAvel  Princess;  but  Avhen  Prince  Fire  Shine 
peeped  into  the  hut  one  day  all  that  he  saAv  AA-as  a sea 
monster,  Avhich  craAvled  out  of  the  hut  and  AA’cnt  into 
the  sea.  NeA'ertheless  the  monster  Avas  the  JeAvel 
Princess  in  disguise ; and  her  son  AA'as  Jimmu  Teuuo, 
the  first  Emperor  of  Japan. 

Instead  of  dismissing  these  elder  gods  to  deAuldom, 
Buddhism  quietly  absorbed  them,  by  the  simple  pro- 
cess of  recognizing  them  as  AA'atars  or  Gongen,  tem- 
porary manifestations  or  incarnations  of  Buddha,  like 
Shaka  (Gautama)  himself.  Thus  came  about  the 


THE  SHRINES  OF  ISE. 


139 


Ryobu  Shinto,  a strange  fusion  of  Buddhas  and 
Kami,  so  blended  at  last  that  no  one  can  say  of  cer- 
tain elements  whether  they  came  from  this  side  or 
from  that.  The  recent  “ purifying  ” movement  has 
drawn  lines  as  best  it  could,  turning  out  priests  and 
pagodas  and  incense,  and  a hundred  picturesque  acces- 
sories, by  which  Buddhism  had  “defiled”  the  worship 
of  the  Kami ; leaving  oidy  the  mirror  and  the  gohei, 
which  are  regarded  as  emblems  of  truth  and  purity  of 
heart,  and  of  self  knowledge  and  obedience  to  that 
innate  sense  of  right  that  Shinto  claims  for  man.  For 
the  rest,  the  grosser  forms  of  natiu’e-worship  have 
been  supjiressed  or  eliminated,  and  ancestor  worship 
has  become  with  many  a sort  of  passion  of  enthusiasm 
for  the  great  departed;  so  that  modern  Pure  Shinto 
may  be  allowed  to  cover  almost  anything,  from  a 
belief  in  deities  innumerable  to  a vague  acknowledg- 
ment of  a power  over  all — a belief  not  far  from 
Matthew  Arnold’s  “ Something,  not  ourselves,  that 
makes  for  righteousness.” 

An  interesting  example  of  the  way  in  which  these 
Shinto  nature  deities  were  taken  over  into  the  Bud- 
dhist pantheon  is  quoted  by  Chamberlain.  In  the  early 
centuries  there  was  a devout  Buddhist  priest,  who  was 
troubled  with  questionings  about  these  matters.  He 
therefore  went  on  a pilgrimage  to  Ise,  and,  praying 
for  many  days  at  the  shrine,  besought  the  Sun  Goddess 
Amaterasu-no-kami  to  show  herself  to  him  in  her  true 
form — for,  it  must  be  remembered,  at  Ise  there  is  no 


140 


JAPAN. 


image,  nor  any  representation  of  the  divinity  whatso- 
ever. It  is  needful  to  take  on  faith  even  the  mirror 
of  the  goddess  herself,  in  its  silken  cover,  which  is 
never  taken  off,  but,  when  it  might  decay,  is  covered 
with  a new  one  on  top  of  the  layers  of  old  ones  which 
have  hidden  it  for  centuries. 

On  the  last  night  of  his  hundred  days’  pilgrimage, 
the  goddess  appeared  to  the  priest  in  a dream  (under 
what  form  is  not  stated),  and  told  him  to  go  to  the 
seashore  at  a certain  place,  and  there  she  would  mani- 
fest herself  to  him.  Full  of  joy,  the  priest  went  to 
the  spot  to  which  he  had  been  direeti  d by  the  heavenly 
vision ; but  to  his  dismay  and  disajipointment  there 
appeared  only  a great  serpent,  ten  feet  long  and  of  a 
bright  golden  color,  floating  on  the  waves.  This,  he 
felt  sure,  was  but  a delusion  of  the  goddess,  meant  to 
try  his  faith,  and,  crying,  Monster ! show  thyself  in 
thy  true  form,”  he  took  off  his  scarf,  a part  of  his 
sacerdotal  vestments,  and  flung  it  at  the  serpent,  which 
did  not  change  its  appearance,  but  slowly  sank  into 
the  sea. 

Three  nights  later  the  faithful  priest  had  another 
vision,  in  which  the  goddess  told  him  that  he  had  in- 
deed seen  only  another  appearance,  and  not  the  reality  ; 
but  as  a reward  he  should  go  to  a certain  little  temple 
in  Yamato,  and  there  he  should  find  her  as  in  very 
truth  she  was.  The  priest  joyfully  obeyetl ; but  when 
he  reached  the  place,  the  image  proved  to  be  so  holy 
that  the  monks  in  charge  of  the  temple  at  first  refused 


THE  SHKINES  OF  ISE. 


141 


to  show  it.  When  at  last  they  consented  to  open  the 
shrine,  to  their  astonishment  they  found  that  the  very 
scarf  which  the  pilgrim  had  thrown  at  the  serpent  was 
twisted  around  the  image  of  Amida.  Tlien  the  priest 
knew  that  the  goddess  had  indeed  condescended  to 
enlighten  him,  and  he  worshiped  Amaterasu  in  the 
Buddha  of  Light  and  Wisdom. 

At  the  World’s  Parliament  of  Religions  at  Chicago, 
in  1893,  the  Right  Rev.  R.  Shibata  explained  the 
meaning  of  the  name  Shinto  as  used  to  signify  the 
ancient  religion  of  Japan.  “ The  word  Shinto  or 
Kami-no-michi  comes  from  the  two  words  /Shhi  or 
Kami  (they  are  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  pronuncia- 
tion of  the  same  character)  meaning  deity,  and  to  or 
miclii,  a way;  and  it  designates  the  Way  transmitted 
to  us  from  our  Divine  Ancestoi’s,  in  whicli  every 
Japanese  is  bound  to  walk. 

“Aeeording  to  our  ancient  scriptures  there  was  a 
generation  of  Kami  or  Deities,  who  created  tlie  heavens 
and  the  earth,  together  with  all  things,  and  became 
the  ancestors  of  the  Japanese.  And,  as  every  child 
of  the  Heavenly  Deity  came  into  tlie  world  witli  a 
soul  separated  from  the  one  original  soul  of  Deity,  he 
ouglit  to  be  just  as  the  Deity  ordered ; lie  must  be 
plain  and  simple  as  the  form  of  the  .sacred  mountain 
Fuji,  and  make  his  mind  and  body  pure  as  the  serenity 
thereof.” 

Purity,  actual  and  ceremonial,  is  the  one  law  of 
Shinto ; and  a large  share  of  the  rites  are  directed  to 


142 


JAPAN. 


])urification.  Twice  yearly  from  the  earlie.st  time.s  the 
Emperor,  as  head  of  the  national  family,  has  ]>er- 
formed  the  office  of  purification  for  him.self  and  his 
people,  whereby  they  are  “ i)urged  from  offences  and  pol- 
lutioirs,  and  .saved  from  possible  calamities.”  Accord- 
ing to  one  authority,  it  is  the  custom  for  each  Shinto 
household  to  have  in  the  Kamidana — the  shelf  where 
the  name-tablets  of  the  ancestors  are  kept — an  amulet 
made  of  a bit  of  the  sacred  wand  used  by  the  priestess 
of  his  temi)le  who  dances  the  sacred  dance  at  the  fes- 
tiv’al  of  purification ; this  amulet  is  renewed  at  each 
half-yearl}’^  feast,  and  the  old  ones  are  to  be  used  to 
kindle  the  fire  for  the  bath,  which  the  priestess  takes 
before  the  dance. 

In  early  times  it  is  recorded  that  fear  of  pollution 
sometimes  led  to  neglect  of  the  sick  and  the  dead ; 
corpses  were  left  by  the  roadside  because  no  one  would 
care  for  them,  and  laws  had  to  be  enacted  enjoining 
decency  in  these  things.  The  custom  of  moving  the 
jndace  after  the  death  of  an  Emperor  rose  from  the 
same  kind  of  superstitious  dread  of  defilement.  In 
early  time.s,  if  a traveler  died  upon  the  way,  his  comrades 
were  obliged  to  pay  a sum  of  money  to  the  people  of 
the  district  in  which  he  died,  to  defray  the  expense  of 
the  rites  of  purification  and  sacrifice  necessary  to  pro- 
tect them  from  the  defilement ; and  even  in  case  of 
sickness  the  same  rule  was  held.  Moreover,  when  a 
man  went  out  of  his  own  part  of  the  country,  he  had 
to  take  with  him  food  and  a vessel  to  cook  it  in ; and 


THE  SHKINES  OF  ISE. 


143 


he  might  not  cook  it  beside  the  road  without  permis- 
sion from  the  neighbors,  lest  by  some  act  of  his  the 
place  should  be  made  unclean ; if  he  failed  to  do  this, 
he  might  be  required  to  pay  for  rites  of  purification  for 
their  houses.  If  he  borrowed  a pot,  and  accidentally 
let  it  touch  anything  unclean,  he  was  recpiired  to  pay 
for  the  purification  sacrifice.'  Naturally,  this  sort  of 
thing  was  afterwards  discontinued  — and  yet  it  was 
probably  no  more  than  the  Hindus  practice  to  the 
present  time.  But  it  is  really  true,  as  their  own  writ- 
ers have  said,  that  the  Japanese  have  an  instinctive 
horror  of  u ncl can li ness ; and  their  “causes  of  defile- 
ment ” are  often  curiously  like  those  of  the  ancient 
Hebrews;  while  their  ways  are  quite  as  astonishingly 
indike  those  of  any  of  their  neighbors  nearer  than 
the  IMalay,  who  seem  to  have  an  equal  passion  for  the 
water. 

Shinto  is  likewise  sharply  distinct  from  Chinese 
ideas  in  the  position  it  gives  to  women.  As  at  Iso,  in 
all  Sliinto  slirincs  an  inqxwtant  part  of  the  temple 
service  belongs  to  virgin  priestesses;  it  is  they  wlio 
dance  tlie  siicrcd  dances,  they  who  clean  the  sacred 
shrine.  At  the  great  Kasuga  temj)le  at  Nara,  young 
girls  and  women  rode  on  horseback  in  the  procession  at 
the  most  important  festivals ; and  when  a temple  was 
to  be  erected,  girls  cleared  the  ground  and  dug  the 
holes  for  the  corner  ])osts,  and  a virgin  took  the  axe 
and  made  the  first  cut  in  the  wood  for  the  timbers. 

Like  the  vestal  virgins,  the  Shinto  priestesses 


144 


JAPAN. 


were  to  remain  virgins  only  during  the  terra  of  their 
service  at  the  temple;  celibacy  was  no  part  of  the 
doctrine,  rather  the  underlying  idea  was  that  of  a 
family,  in  which  the  head  of  the  house  acted  as  priest, 
assisted  by  his  virgin  daughters.  The  .sacred  hymns 
were  long  handed  down  orally,  without  being  com- 
mitted to  writing.  There  are  twenty-seven  greater 
rituals,  nearly  all  of  them  invocations  for  peace  and 
plenty ; one  only  for  protection  again.st  evdl  spirits. 
But  without  these  rituals  properly  performed,  it  is 
thought  that  the  Kami  might  be  angry,  and  send  or 
permit  evil  to  befall  the  crops  or  the  houses.  Natu- 
rally the  most  important  of  all  were  the  harvest  rites, 
the  prayers  for  a plentiful  crop. 

“ Harken  all  ye,  for  I speak  in  the  presence  of  the 
gods  who  rule  over  the  harvest.  If  they  render 
bountiful  the  harvest  we  have  sown,  that  for  which  our 
hands  have  toiled  and  our  feet  have  trodden  the  soil 
of  the  rice-field,  then  will  I offer  of  the  first-fruits  of 
rice  a thousand  heads,  and  sake  in  the  wide  cups 
ranged  duly  in  line.”  And  duly  are  the  thanksgivings 
offered  still,  on  the  day  of  the  First-fruits,  which  falls 
now  in  October,  and  on  the  festival  of  the  later  har- 
vest, now  held  in  November. 

The  offerings  in  kind  have  been  long  since  discon- 
tinued in  the  Shinto  ritual,  except  the  daily  offerings 
of  food  and  water  paid  both  at  the  temples  and  before 
the  Kamidana  at  home.  The  ancient  chronicles  record 
the  gifts  of  “ bright  cloth  and  glittering  cloth,  fine 


THE  SIIKINES  OF  ISE. 


145 


cloth  and  coarse  cloth,  sak6  jars  and  sweet  herbs  and 
bitter,  things  wide  of  fin  and  narrow  of  fin,  piled  up 
like  the  ranges  of  the  hills.”  For  all  these,  the  strips 
of  paper  fastened  to  a wand,  called  gohei,  are  supposed 
to  be  the  representatives  and  substitutes.  They  are 
nearly  always  pure  white,  and  cut  in  a particular  way, 
and  they  are  certainly  used  as  an  indication  of  divine 
presence  in  the  widest  sense. 

Here  is  a Japanese  description  of  the  ceremony  of 
“Earth  worship”  on  the  estate  of  a Daiinyo;  it  was, 
however,  a special  occasion,  to  invoke  an  increase  from 
the  land,  not  the  regular  yearly  service. 

“ The  lord,  governor,  county  officers  and  village 
officers,  all  dressed  in  sacerdotal  robes,  proceeded  first 
to  the  temple  of  Kasuga,  to  inform  the  god  of  their 
aim  and  purpose.  The  procession  then  marched  to  a 
piece  of  ground  recently  opened,  and  there,  with  all 
solemnity,  the  chief  first  took  up  a hoe  and  struck  it 
three  times  into  the  ground.  After  him  the  governor 
struck  nine  times,  the  county  officers  twenty-seven 
times,  and  so  on  down  to  the  very  tiller  of  the  soil. 
The  whole  was  a public  acknowledgment  that  the  .soil 
was  sacred  and  to  be  sacredly  handled,  and  that  all 
blessinss  of  life  were  drawn  from  it.” 

Not  only  the  great  deities,  who  are  forces  of  nature 
or  spirits  of  the  departed,  found  a place  in  the  system 
of  Kami  worship ; like  the  Latins,  the  Japane.sc  finds 
a divinity  for  almo.st  every  article  of  daily  use,  and 
one  to  w’atch  over  all  his  actions ; there  was  one  who 
VOL.  II.  — 10 


146 


JAPAN. 


guard(Kl  the  rice  pot,  and  for  every  part  of  the  house, 
as  well  as  the  god  of  the  spring  and  the  god  of  the 
thunder.  Yet  for  all  these  many  deities  the  true 
Shinto  had  no  images ; that  was  left  for  Buddhism  to 
introduce,  along  with  the  many  other  foreign  elements 
of  Japanese  religion  as  it  stands  to-day.  The  only 
outward  tokens  are  the  mirror  of  the  Sun  Goddess  in 
her  temple,  and  the  ihai,  the  name-tablets  of  the  dead, 
which  stand  to  their  people  almost  as  the  living  pres- 
ence of  the  departed. 

There  is  a touching  little  story — one  of  many  illus- 
trating the  universal  sense  of  the  nearness  of  the 
beloved  dead — whicb  is  based  on  this  idea  of  the  ihai 
as  representing  the  very  person  whose  name  it  bears, 
and,  too,  of  the  possibility  of  their  return  in  bodily 
form  to  our  world.  Many  years  ago,  says  this  legend, 
a young  Samurai  was  betrothed  to  a beautiful  girl ; 
they  Avere  about  to  be  married,  when  suddenly  the 
young  knight  Avas  summoned  to  follow  his  lord  to 
battle.  In  those  days  there  Avas  little  communication 
betAA'cen  one  part  of  the  country  and  another ; the 
Avar  Avas  long,  and  for  months  nothing  Avas  heard  of 
the  knight.  The  little  bride  began  to  droop ; then 
she  fell  sick,  and  at  last  she  died.  The  distracted 
parents  set  up  a tablet  at  her  tomb,  closed  their  house, 
and  departed  on  a long  pilgrimage. 

At  last  the  Samurai  returned,  and  reaching  the  A’il- 
lage,  learned  for  the  first  time  Avhat  had  taken  place ; 
and  he  A\"ent  to  the  tomb  of  his  bride,  meaning  to  kill 


THE  SHEINES  OF  ISE. 


147 


himself  there.  But  as  he  drew  the  dagger,  a soft 
voice  called  to  him  to  stay ; and  before  him  stood  the 
young  girl,  beautiful  as  he  had  left  her.  “ I did  not 
die,”  she  told  him ; ‘‘  I only  disappeared  for  a little 
while.”  Together  they  returned  to  the  deserted 
house,  and,  calling  in  the  neighbors,  the  marriage  rite 
was  celebrated. 

For  a year  they  lived  together  in  perfect  happiness, 
and  a son  was  born  to  them,  whom  the  young  wife 
cherished  with  a tender  sadness.  Then  one  day  her 
parents  returned  from  their  pilgrimage,  and  as  they 
drew  near  their  own  part  of  the  country  they  heard 
that  the  man  who  was  to  have  been  their  son-in-law 
was  married  and  living  in  the  village;  and  they  sought 
him  out,  and  loaded  him  with  reproaches  for  his  un- 
faithfulness to  their  daughter.  But  he  told  them  he 
had  done  no  wrong,  for  his  wife  was  no  other  than 
their  own  daughter,  whom  they  supposed  to  be  dead ; 
and  leading  them  to  the  house,  he  bade  them  enter 
and  see.  So  they  entered,  and  in  her  chamber, 
wrapped  in  a quilt,  lay  the  rosy  baby ; but  the  wife 
was  no  longer  there.  Beside  the  child  lay  the  ihai, 
inscribed  with  her  name,  which  the  parents  had  placed 
over  her  tomb. 

In  regard  to  the  assertion  so  often  made  that  Shinto 
is  too  vague  to  be  considered  a religion  at  all,  the 
writer  of  the  unsigned  paper  in  “Japan  Illustrated” 
says:  “It  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that  the 
intuitive  system  of  morality  receives  its  fullest  recog- 


148 


JAPAN. 


nition  when  ethical  sanctions  are  not  coded.  If  a man 
derives  the  first  principle  of  his  duties  from  intuition, 
and  if  he  be  so  constituted  that  the  notion  of  right 
carries  with  it  a sense  of  obligation,  then  a schedule 
of  rules  and  regulations  for  the  direction  of  eveiy-day 
conduct  becomes  not  only  superfluous,  but  illogical. 
That  was  tlie  moral  basis  of  Shinto.  If  the  feet  were 
kept  firmly  in  the  path  of  right,  the  guardianship  of 
the  gods  was  assured,  Avitliout  even  praying  for  it.” 

Of  this,  which  may  be  called  the  higher  Shinto,  the 
common  people  probably  comprehend  no  single  word, 
though  the  devout  among  them  unquestionably  find  a 
real  comfort  in  their  visits  to  the  shrines.  Indeed, 
this  same  writer  declares  that  “ not  a peasant  believes 
that  his  farm  can  be  productive,  not  a merchant  that 
his  business  can  thrive,  unless  he  pays,  or  honestly 
resolves  to  pay,  at  least  one  visit  to  Ise  during  his 
lifetime.”  Further,  if  to  us  most  of  the  visitors  seem 
to  give  themselves  up  to  a mere  unthinking  festivity, 
it  may  be  consoling  to  remember  that  the  unlettered 
children  of  the  East  are  really  much  more  of  children 
than  Ave  can  easily  imagine ; and,  like  children,  they 
can  pass  A’ery  quickly  from  a state  of  religious  aAve  to 
a A"ery  different  condition,  Avithout  spiritual  shipAvreck. 

As  a large  part  of  the  pilgrims  are  peasant  farmers, 
their  best  time  to  come  is  in  the  Avinter,  Avhen  there  is 
least  doing  in  the  fields ; but  the  faA’orite  season  is 
early  spring,  Avhen  the  cherries  are  in  blossom.  Then 
the  toAvn  is  more  than  e\’er  gay  Avith  flags,  aud  the 


THE  SHRINES  OF  ISE. 


149 


three  hundred  or  more  inns  packed  to  overflowing 
with  pilgrims,  most  of  them  bent  on  merry-making, 
like  those  Homeric  youths  who,  after  the  sacrifice, 
“ate  and  drank,  and  pleased  the  god  all  day  with 
dance  and  song.”  The  pilgrim  societies  furnish  a 
large  part  of  the  contingent  — those  curious  clubs 
which  flourish  in  all  parts  of  Japan,  and  send  a cer- 
tain number  of  representatives  each  year  to  this  or 
that  shrine  or  sacred  mountain.  All  pay  certain 
yearly  dues,  and  the  pilgrims  for  the  year  are  chosen 
by  lot  from  among  the  members,  their  expenses  being 
paid  out  of  the  general  fund.  They  mark  their 
favorite  inns  all  along  the  way,  putting  up  little  ban- 
ners stamped  with  the  device  of  their  club,  and  the 
inns  naturally  are  delighted  with  such  good  advertise- 
ment. One  member,  usually  the  most  experienced, 
acts  as  the  head  of  the  party,  and  “ personally  con- 
ducts” them  from  shrine  to  shrine,  explaining  and 
exhorting,  for  all  the  world  like  a tourist  agent  with 
a party  of  zealous  sight-seers. 

The  temples  are  quite  outside  of  the  town,  and  the 
crowd  ebbs  back  and  forth  under  the  torii  and  through 
the  great  wood,  “a  natural  nave  of  cryptomeria,”  as 
Percival  Lowell  calls  it.  Here  and  there  among  the 
trees  are  glimpses  of  the  plain,  unpainted  buildings, 
and  the  curious  projecting  rafters  seeming  to  push 
through  the  deep  velvet-brown  thatch  ; for  on  these 
temples  are  no  tiled  roofs,  as  on  the  Buddhist  or  even 
the  Ryobu  Shinto  shrines.  There  are  many  buildings 


150 


JAPAN. 


besides  the  Naiku  and  the  Geku,  such  as  the  one  for 
the  sacred  dance,  and  that  where  the  members  of  the 
imperial  family  or  their  representatives  change  their 
garments  before  entering  the  shrine  of  the  Food  God- 
dess on  the  festival  of  the  Divine  Tasting  ” — the 
thanksgiving  of  the  first-fruits.  Among  the  camphor 
and  cry])tomerias  and  other  tall  trees  are  clumps  of 
the  sacred  sakaki  {cleyera  Japonica),  whose  touch 
purifies.  The  wood  of  the  sakaki  is  used  for  the 
wand  on  which  the  gohei  are  hung  for  the  purification 
rites,  and  two  vases  containing  sprigs  of  sakaki  are 
generally  placed  in  Shinto  temples,  with  the  mirror 
and  gohei.  This,  too,  it  is  that  is  used  at  Shinto 
funerals,  when  at  the  end  of  the  rites  those  nearest 
akin  go  one  by  one  and  lay  a sprig  of  sakaki  on  the 
bier.  It  is  a last  sign  of  separation,  the  token  that 
now  they  are  purified  from  the  touch  of  death  and 
may  approach  no  more. 

The  Naiku  is  far  away  over  the  hills  at  another 
little  village,  reached  by  a picturesque  road,  which 
winds  along  the  shore  and  across  a long  bridge,  giving 
beautiful  views  of  the  near  mountains,  and  even  of 
Fuji,  they  say,  in  certain  very  favorable  weather. 
One  of  the  curiosities  on  the  way  is  the  pair  of  rocks 
in  the  sea,  a few  yards  out,  called  the  “conjugal 
rocks,”  which  are  united  by  a straw  rope — sure  sign 
of  some  legend  of  sanctity.  One  version  is  that  the 
sacred  rope  wards  otF  contagious  disease,  and  that  the 
god  Susa-no-o  taught  this  to  a peasant  and  his  wife 


THE  SHRINES  OF  ISE. 


151 


in  the  neighborhood.  At  the  Naiku  itself  thei’e  is 
even  less  to  see  than  at  the  Geku — only  torii  and 
fences  and  the  tops  of  thatched  roofs  through  the 
trees. 

Beyond  the  wood  leading  to  the  Geku  there  is  a 
little  fenced  court,  and  on  the  far  side  a third  torii 
leads  to  a fliglit  of  wide  stone  steps,  ending  in  another 
high  fence  or  palisade,  smooth  and  unpainted,  which 
surrounds  the  temples  of  the  Food  Goddess.  In  tiie 
middle  of  this  fence  is  a thatched  gate,  not  closed,  but 
hung  across  by  a white  curtain,  like  a great  slieet, 
cjuite  concealing  the  inner  court.  Before  tlie  gate  and 
the  curtain  there  is  a mat,  on  which  the  worshij)ers 
throw  tlieir  otferings  of  thin  copper  rin,  and  now  and 
tlien  a bigger  coin  ; and  before  the  mat  the  jiilgrims 
put  off  their  shoes,  believing  they  have  reached  the 
very  tlireshold  of  the  gods.  The  thing  is  all  the  more 
solemn  because  the  people  firmly  believe  that  any 
irreverence,  even  unintentional,  may  bring  the  wrath 
of  the  deity  upon  the  whole  country;  and  they 
instance  the  case,  centuries  ago,  when  an  offering  of 
food  on  its  way  from  the  temple  of  the  Food  Goddess 
to  the  other  was  unwittingly  carried  past  some  unclean 
thing.  The  Emperor  fell  sick,  and  all  sorts  of  dire 
things  happened,  till  the  cause  was  discovered  and 
expiation  made.  Since  then  they  have  taken  no  risks; 
the  offerings  for  both  divinities  are  made  in  the  temple 
of  the  Food  Goddess,  and  are  not  carried  across  to  the 
Naiku. 


152 


JAPAN. 


A tragic  proof  of  the  intense  popular  feeling  on  this 
subject  was  given  in  1885,  by  the  assassination  of  Vis- 
count Mori,  one  of  the  best  and  ablest  men  in  the 
country.  He  had  been  much  abroad,  in  negotiations 
at  Peking,  in  America,  and  as  ^Minister  to  England; 
and  after  returning  home,  as  Minister  of  Education, 
he  practically  created  the  present  educational  sy.stem 
in  Japan.  A progressive  of  the  progre.ssive.s,  he  lived 
at  the  top  of  the  pro-European  wave,  and  was  almost 
ready  to  drop  everything  national  if  only  Japan  might 
be  brought  immediately  in  line  with  the  rest  of  the 
woi’ld.  Prof.  Max  Muller,  not  long  before  his  death, 
gave  an  amusing  account  of  the  impre.ssion  made  on 
him  by  the  way  in  which  Viscount  Mori  rirshed  down 
to  call,  between  trains  as  it  were,  to  consult  the  pro- 
fessor as  a s}>ecialist  on  the  best  religion  to  introduce 
for  the  common  people  of  Japan.  Educated  men,  he 
considered,  did  very  well  on  philosophy ; but  the  lower 
classes  needed  a religion ; their  own  cults,  he  said,  were 
obsolete,  Christianity  “ had  proved  a failure,”  and  what 
would  the  professor  recommend?  Max  Muller  seems 
to  have  intimated  that  religions  could  not  be  served  to 
nations  by  order,  and  to  have  declined  to  propose  any- 
thing by  way  of  substitute  for  the  beliefs  the  Viscount 
had  proposed  to  reject;  and  IMori  hurried  back  to 
catch  his  steamer  for  home. 

Evidently  it  was  in  this  mood  of  indifference,  if  not 
actual  disdain,  that  he  visited  the  Ise  shrines  late  in 
1884 ; for  he  not  only  failed  to  make  the  usual  offer- 


THE  SHRINES  OF  ISE. 


153 


ing,  but  even  ‘pushed  aside  the  white  curtain  with  his 
walking-stick.  Some  say  that  when  warned  he  apolo- 
gized, others  that  he  was  haughty  and  overbearing. 
This  much  is  certain,  that  a young  man  of  the  place 
became  greatly  excited,  and  brooded  over  the  act  and 
its  possible  effects  on  the  Emperor  and  the  nation,  till 
he  resolved  to  kill  the  evil-doer  and  .save  the  country 
from  the  awful  cousecjuences  of  such  sacrilege.  So 
he  wrote  a letter  declaring  his  purpose,  and  went  up 
to  Tokyo  and  stabbed  Viscount  Mori  in  his  own  house, 
just  as  he  was  about  to  go  to  the  palace  on  the  morn- 
ing the  Constitution  was  signed.  The  fanatic  was  cut 
down  on  the  spot,  and  unhappily  became  at  once  a 
hero  and  a martyr  in  the  people’s  eyes. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


KYOTO — THE  PALACES. 

Tokyo,  tlie  Japanese  say,  is  the  brain  of  new  Japan, 
but  Kyoto  is  its  heart.  Thougli  deserted  by  the  Court 
since  1868,  the  old  imperial  city  is  still  dear  to  the 
peoj)le  as  the  centre  of  heroic  and  sacred  associa- 
tions, and  still  the  centre,  too,  of  art,  all  the  schools 
and  guilds  of  the  caj)ital  notwithstanding.  Naturally 
aristocratic  and  conservative,  the  departure  of  the 
Court  took  away  that  progressive  modernizing  element 
which  was  so  valuable  to  the  nation  as  a whole,  but  so 
dangerous  to  its  relics  of  antiquity,  and  left  Kyoto  to 
cultivate  its  arts  and  preserve  its  monuments  and  tra- 
ditions in  peace ; wherefore  the  old  capital  remains  to- 
day the  most  thoroughly  Japanese  of  all  the  large  cities 
in  the  empire,  and  far  the  most  interesting  to  Western 
visitors. 

Not  that  Kyoto  is  without  the  touch  of  modern  life; 
an  imperial  university,  a Christian  college  and  an 
electric  tram  are  side  by  side  with  a very  bewilder- 
ment of  temples  and  palaces  and  curio  shops,  a jumble 
of  works  of  art  old  and  new,  good  and  bad,  together. 
Most  of  the  town  now  crowds  close  around  the  bridges, 

154 


KYOTO— THE  PALACES. 


155 


but  there  are  long  rides  through  streets  far  too  wide  for 
their  shrunken  traffic,  and  out  to  monasteries  once  in 
the  city  and  now  surrounded  by  yellow  rape  and  paddy- 
fields.  For  when  the  Court  moved  here  from  Xara  at 
the  end  of  the  eighth  century,  closing,  so,  the  brilliant 
“ Nara  period”  and  beginning  “ Heian,”  the  Peace, 
the  Emperor  was  still  a power  and  not  a name,  and  he 
laid  out  his  new  capital  generously.  A great  palace 
enclosure  stood  at  the  north  end,  and  a space  for  the 
dwellings  of  the  Court  nobles;  then  wide  streets  num- 
bered off  from  this,  one,  two,  three — Ichi-jo,  Xi-jo, 
San-jo — crossed  by  still  wider  Tera-machi  running 
straight  down  from  the  palace  gate.  The  whole  city 
space  was  three  miles  wide  and  a little  longer,  enclosed 
by  a wall  and  a ditch,  and  provided  with  bridges  and 
water-gates  at  the  end  of  each  street.  The  situation 
was  wisely  chosen,  in  a beautiful  little  jdain  crossed 
by  the  Kamogawa,  and  circled  by  wooded  mountains. 
Even  so  Florence  lies  in  the  Tuscan  hills;  but  there 
comparison  ceases,  for  the  view  from  Yaami’s  or  Maru- 
yama  shows  no  Duomo,  no  Palazzo  Vecchio,  only  a sea 
of  low,  black-tiled  roofs,  and  here  and  there  a mass  of 
trees,  or  a high  red  temjde,  “ shouldering  up,”  as  La 
Fargo  says,  among  the  lesser  houses. 

Venerable  as  some  of  them  look,  none  of  the  build- 
ings actually  date  very  far  back ; a purely  timber  archi- 
tecture would  preclude  that,  even  if  the  city  had  not 
been  besieged  and  defended,  sacked  and  rebuilt,  over 
and  over  again  during  those  long,  stormy  centuries. 


156 


JAPAN. 


But  many  of  the  temples  were  founded  in  the  thir- 
teenth century  by  the  luxurious  Ashikaga  Shoguns, 
who  patronized  the  arts  and  plunged  the  country  into  a 
chaos  of  misrule  ; and  others  by  the  Tokugawa,  build- 
ers of  Nikko  and  Ycdo,  who,  whatever  their  faults,  at 
least  brought  in  two  centuries  of  peace  and  order  and 
cultivation. 

Tlie  tirst  European  hotel  in  Kyoto  was  Yaami’s, 
which  rambles  delightfully  up  a pine-clad  hillside  east 
of  the  town  ; it  was  originally  a famous  tea-house 
called  Ichi-ri-ki — the  very  one  where  Oishi,  chief  of 
the  Forty-seven  Bonin,  drank  and  played  the  fool  to 
such  deep  purpose.  A pretty  Japanese  garden  slopes 
down  the  hill  below  the  house,  and  from  the  balconies 
you  look  over  the  gray  city,  and  the  misty  fields 
spreading  away  to  the  mountains.  The  Yaami  is 
cool  and  pleasant  in  summer ; but  the  Kyoto  hotel, 
across  the  river  in  the  town,  which  is  under  the  same 
management,  has  the  advantage  of  being  more  central, 
and  sparing  the  extra  half-mile  of  jinrikisha  ride  ; — 
which  is  a consideration,  for  Kyoto  jinrikishas  are 
execrable  old  rattletraps,  and  Kyoto  streets  are  fauged 
with  murderous  stones,  and  the  temples  are  very 
many  and  a weariness  to  the  flesh. 

Then  there  are  hours  to  be  spent  in  the  curio  shops, 
Avhich  some  are  thought  to  find  more  interesting  than 
too  many  temples.  Whether  interesting  or  not,  at 
least  no  one  is  allowed  to  forget  them.  Not  half  an 
hour  does  the  stranger  remain  at  his  hotel  before  there 

O 


KYOTO— THE  PALACES. 


157 


oomes  a soft  knock  at  the  door,  and  a gentle  person,  dep- 
recating, but  by  no  means  obsequious,  asks  permission 
just  to  inform  you  of  bis  establishment,  where  he  will 
be  most  pleased  to  exhibit  Ids  unworthy  goods — fans, 
cloisonne,  bronze,  old  swords,  embroidery,  porcelain 
and  “genuine  old”  Satsuma,  as  the  case  may  be. 
Probably  he  has  a small  package,  done  up  in  a green 
cotton  furoshiki  (wrapping  handkerchief)  stamj^ed 
with  the  ideograph  of  his  house — goran  kudasai,  be- 
holding condescend  ! A courteous  bow,  and  the  little 
catching  of  the  breath  that  expresses  so  mucli  defer- 
ence in  Japan.  It  is  not  at  all  necessary  to  be  rude 
to  the.se  people ; a polite  refusal  dismi&ses  them  at 
once ; and  tlie  truth  is,  four  tourists  in  five  find 
tlieir  cards,  or  a private  view  of  their  wares,  a real 
convenience  and  saving  of  precious  time.  Xor  are 
the  goods  tliey  show  to  be  entirely  despised.  Of 
course,  they  are  modern,  and  of  course,  too,  Kyoto 
])uts  out  yearly  an  enormous  amount  of  hasty,  fiashy 
stnfi)  solely  for  export  to  foreign  markets — it  sells  as  the 
other  does  not;  but,  happily,  not  all  the  nation  is  utterly 
corrupted,  and  there  is  good  work  still,  bearing  much 
of  the  dainty  charm,  the  exquisite  refinement,  belong- 
ing to  things  genuinely  Japanc.se.  As  for  antiques, 
everybody  knows  the  time  for  bargains  and  wonderful 
finds  is  long  gone  by;  it  belonged  to  the  unsettlement 
following  the  opening  of  the  country  and  the  cruel  Sat- 
suma rebellion,  when  heirlooms  were  sold  for  a little 
rice,  ami  when  it  was  the  fashion  to  run  after  Progress 


158 


JAPAN. 


with  a very  large  P,  and  exchange  priceless  lacquers 
for  American  “ Pre-Centennial  ” carpets.  Mercifully, 
there  was  a reaction  that  saved  the  country  much 
beside  art;  and  nowadays,  if  good  things  find  their 
■way  to  second-hand  shops — as  from  time  to  time  they 
undoubtedly  do — there  are  plenty  of  dealers  who  very 
well  know  their  value,  and  Japanese  collectors  ready 
to  give  full  prices;  so  that  the  fascinating  chase  is  no 
longer  an  inexpensive  amusement. 

Doubtless  it  was  the  famous  bleaching  powers  of 
the  Kamogawa  that  made  Kyoto  early  foremost  in  the 
dyers’  arts,  as  the  neighboring  clay-banks  drew  to  her 
the  makers  of  fine  porcelains.  For  the  human  ele- 
ment the  crafts  probably  owed  far  less  to  the  patron- 
age of  the  Court  than  the  Church — that  elaborate 
Buddhist  ritual,  which  called  forth  a gorgeous  art  to 
supply  its  needs.  Yet  the  Court  was  not  without  in- 
fluence ; it  represented  a taste,  a tendency,  that  seems 
always  at  war  with  the  Buddhistic  element;  a national 
impulse  of  restraint  and  severity,  which  acts  as  a 
check,  or  balance-wheel,  to  the  rather  florid  inclina- 
tions of  the  other. 

Thus  it  happens  that  there  are  here  in  Kyoto  two 
sharplv-contrasting  buildings  — the  imperial  palace 
(the  “Gosho”)and  the  so-called  Xijo  palace  of  the 
Tokugawa  Slioguns ; each  an  almost  typical  example 
of  these  two  diametrically  opposed  tendencies;  the 
one  simple,  reserved,  delighting  in  wide,  restful  spaces 
and  delicate  tones ; the  other  rich,  splendid,  full  of 


-op 


KYOTO— THE  PALACES. 


159 


brilli’ant  color  and  exuberance  of  crowding  fancy. 
The  one  original,  Shintoist,  strictly  national ; the 
other,  offspring  of  Buddhism,  which,  coming  from 
India  through  China,  brought  with  it  all  the  sumptu- 
ous, half-barbaric  glitter  of  its  home.  In  considering 
them  it  is  needful  to  remember  continually  what  each 
one  stands  for ; to  remember  that  the  imperial  palace 
goes  back  for  its  model  to  the  remotest  past,  that  it  is 
consciously,  intentionally  conservative ; intentionally 
simple,  too,  in  accordance  with  those  Shinto  precepts 
which  enjoin  purity  of  lieart  and  life,  comparable  to 
the  snow-crowned  Fuji ; an  expression  of  the  Yamato 
Spirit,  Yamato  Damashii,  the  Volksgeist  of  old 
Japan.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Tokugawa  Shoguns, 
patrons  of  Buddhism  and  inheritors  of  the  Chinese 
influences  of  the  ^liddle  Age^,  holding  a military 
ptjwer,  won  by  sheer  energy  and  military  genius  from 
scarcely  le.ss  gifted  rivals — these  Tokugawa  not  only 
surrounded  themselves  with  whatever  tended  to 
increa.se  their  own  jx»wer  and  dignity,  but  with  delib- 
erate purpo.se  .sought  to  weaken  their  rivals  through 
luxury  and  .self-indulgence,  encouraging  to  that  very 
end  all  the  splendid  arts  of  peace. 

Both  the  palaces  are  now  imperial  residences,  and 
not  open  to  the  public,  l)ut  foreign  visitors  ean  obtain 
jtermits  beforehand  through  their  proper  legations. 
Visiting  cards  are  handetl  to  the  gentleman  in  charge 
— who  is  an  officer  of  the  imperial  hou.sehold,  and  not 
a hall  porter — and  names  are  to  be  signed  in  the  visit- 


160 


JAPAN. 


ors’  book  before  beginning  the  round.  The  same  form- 
ality is  repeated  at  each  palace. 

The  two  are  alike  in  general  plan,  except  that  the 
Gosho  (imperial)  seems  more  strictly  a group  of  dwell- 
ings in  a garden ; the  Nijo,  a castle.  The  long,  yel- 
lowish white,  enclosing  wall  of  the  Gosho  is  little 
higher  than  a man,  built  of  earth,  and  plastered  and 
roofed  with  tiles  like  a temple  wall — a .screen  and  not 
a defence ; while  the  Shogun  surrounded  himself  with 
a moat  and  - a mass  of  cyclopean  masonry,  set  with 
heavy  gates  and  towers.  Vivid  enough  tokens,  these, 
of  the  real  relation  between  the  Emperor  and  his 
nominally  obedient  vas.sal,  under  the  Tokugawa  Sho- 
gunate.  In  fact,  for  many  years  before  the  Restora- 
tion, the  Court  revenues  were  disgracefully  insufficient 
for  its  needs,  and  Yamato  reserve  in  matters  of  taste 
was  too  often  cruelly  enforced  by  necessity. 

The  large  space  next  to  the  palace,  which  used  to 
be  enclosed  and  occupied  by  the  nobles’  houses,  is  now 
thrown  open  as  a kind  of  park,  giving  an  effect  of 
solitude  to  the  long,  straight  wall  and  carved  gates. 
Within  the  wall  there  are  fine  trees  and  open  levels, 
not  grassed,  but  strewn  with  small  pebbles,  and  in  the 
innermost  recesses,  behind  the  palace,  is  hidden  the 
choicest  of  Japanese  gardens,  rocks  and  streams  and 
lake,  trees  and  shrubbery,  all  imitating  to  perfection 
some  bit  of  wild  forest  scener}'.  The  palace  garden 
at  Tokyo  has  nothing  half  so  lovely. 

The  closed  storm-shutters  make  the  place  look  de.so- 


KYOTO— THE  PALACES. 


161 


late,  as  all  unused  dwellings  must,  but  cannot  spoil 
its  beauty  of  proportion,  or  the  magnificent  sweeping 
roofs,  Avith  their  upward  tent-curves  and  Avide  oA’er- 
hang,  thatched  tAAm  feet  deep  Avith  gray  bark,  fine  and 
close  as  A’elvet.  Within,  the  sense  of  chilly  empti- 
ness is  not  lessened  by  the  Avhite  brocade  hangings  of 
the  throne,  the  only  piece  of  furniture,  in  a European 
sense,  in  the  A'ast  “ Clear  and  Pure  Hall,”  AAdiich  is 
first  entered ; nor  are  the  broad  masses  of  intense 
cobalt-blue  dashed  across  the  sliding  screens  altogether 
satisfactory  in  decoratiA'e  effect,  hoAvcA'er  symbolically 
correct  as  the  clear  color  of  the  sky.  But  it  is  im- 
possible to  judge  rightly  of  an  effect  planned  for  the 
presence  of  a brilliant  court,  clad  in  those  beautiful 
robes  of  ceremony  Avhich  haA’e  A'auished  before  the 
latest  Berlin  fashions;  and  elseAA’here  the  color  is  be- 
yond praise,  the  drawing  of  bird  and  beast  and  flower 
so  ma.'^terly  that  it  is  difficult  to  believe  they  Averc  all 
produced  since  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century 
— copies  of  copies,  made  Avhen  the  palace  Avas  rebuilt, 
after  being  burned  in  1854.  All  is  of  the  most  ex(pii- 
site  simplicity ; the  AVOodAA’ork  beautifully  grained 
Jceynki  or  hinoki,  perfectly  polished,  unspoiled  by  paint 
or  Amrnish.  The  only  decoration  is  on  the  sliding  jiaper 
screens  AA’hich  di\’ide  the  rooms — here  chrysanthe- 
mums, there  graceful  branches  of  yelloAV  yamahuki ; 
again,  flights  of  Avild  fowl,  all  in  loAV-toned  browns 
and  gold.  One  long  room  has  figures  of  Chinese 
sages,  copies  from  originals  of  the  ninth  century, 
VoL.  II. — 11 


162 


JAPAM. 


stiff,  slant-eyed,  long-moustached  worthies,  whose 
presence  must  surely  have  had  a solemnizing  influence 
on  the  company  before  them.  In  other  rooms  there 
are  delicate  landscapes,  in  the  Tosa  style,  and  more 
saints  and  sages,  and  everywhere  glimpses,  through 
opened  shutters,  of  the  sunny  garden  and  the  blue 
hills.  No  wonder  that,  when  the  Emperor  and  Em- 
press visit  Kyoto,  they  are  apt  to  linger  long ; they 
must  have  gone  from  it  as  from  a little  paradise. 

The  Nijo  palace  was  built  by  Tokugawa  leyasu, 
who  needed  a foothold  in  Kyoto  while  governing 
from  Yedo;  it  is  therefore  nearly  contem])orary  with 
Nikko,  but  in  a stronger,  bolder  style,  as  befitted  the 
palace-fortress.  An  earlier  castle  stood  here,  built  by 
Ota  Nobunaga,  which  was  pulled  down  to  make  way 
for  leyasu’s.  The  first  entrance  is  by  a gorgeous 
gateway  in  the  heavy  stone  wall,  admitting  to  a court 
and  another  great  gate,  carved,  painted,  overlaid  with 
lacquer  and  gold.  This  came  from  the  wonderful 
palace  which  leyasu’s  predecessor,  Hideyoshi,  built  at 
Fushimi,  near  Kyoto,  and  is  a dozen  years  older  than 
the  rest.  The  peonies  and  phoenixes  are  so  like  those 
at  Nikko  that  it  is  no  surj)rise  to  find  they  arc  by  the 
same  master  carver,  Jingoro  Ilidari,  the  Lcft-1  landed. 
There  are  more  wonderful  carvings  of  his  in  the 
vdiama,  or  spaces  above  the  sliding  screens ; o[)cnwork 
panels  of  peacocks  and  phoenixes,  ])eony  and  pine,  so 
cleverly  cut  that  the  two  sides  are  quite  different — 
peacocks,  perha})s,  in  this  room,  flowers  in  that.  On 


KYOTO— THE  PALACES. 


103 


tlie  screens  majestic  eagles  soar  or  rest  on  twisted  pine 
trees,  and  tigers  stalk  in  bamboo  jungles,  all  life-sized 
and  stiirtliugly  bold,  painted  on  wide  backgrounds  of 
dull  gold,  giving  to  the  great  empty  I’ooms  a marvel- 
ous air  of  stately  magnificence.  The  metal  fastenings 
on  beam  ends  and  the  sunk  handles  of  screens  arc 
exquisitely  chased  or  inlaid,  and  wooden  doors  and 
panels  of  corridors  decorated  with  paintings  of  smaller 
birds  and  flowers,  much  of  it  modeled  up  with  chalk 
under  the  color,  and  all  toning  in  with  the  grain  of 
tlie  polished  brown  wood.  One  room  contains  a sad 
relic  of  vandalism  in  a half-effaced  drawing  of  a 
beautiful  white  heron,  resting  on  the  side  of  a boat, 
known  as  the  AVet  Heron,  ^^^^eu  the  palace  was  used 
for  the  offices  of  the  I’rcfecturc — for  some  years  after 
18G8 — this  precious  panel  served  as  a bulletin  board 
for  posting  up  notices. 

Yet  this  building  was  also  the  scene  of  an  “epoch- 
making”  as.sembly — the  finst  meeting  of  the  present 
Emperor  with  his  council,  just  after  his  acce.ssion  to 
the  throne  and  the  resignation  of  the  Shogun.  He 
promised  them  to  create  a deliberative  a.sscmbly,  and 
sulemit  all  (pie.stions  to  the  will  of  the  peo])le  ; and  the 
(’onstitution  and  the  Diet  are  the  result  of  that  prom- 
ise, made  in  the  Xijo  palace  in  18G7,  by  a youth  of 
sixteen,  who,  before,  had  seldom  left  his  own  palace 
walls.  It  was  not  a little  significant  that  ho  should 
come  to  the  Shogun’s  palace  to  do  it,  though  the  choice 
may  have  been  a matter  of  necessity  on  account  of  room. 


164 


JAPAN. 


The  most  magnificent  room  of  all  is  the  great 
audience  hall,  where  the  Shogun  used  to  receive 
homage  from  the  Daimyos.  The  upper  end  is  raised 
for  his  Highness  to  sit  on,  while  the  lesser  princes 
occupied  the  lower  level.  The  mats  are  still  here, 
thick,  close,  finely  woven,  covering  all  the  floor  to  the 
glossy-black  lacquer  sills ; the  metal  fastenings  are 
gilded  bronze,  delicately  wrought,  the  three  asarum 
leaves  of  Tokugawa  appearing  on  the  beam-ends, 
though  elsewhere  in  the  castle  they  are  usually  re- 
])laced  by  the  imperial  chiysanthemuui.  The  wall 
decoration  of  the  audience  hall  is  great  pine  trees, 
broadly  painted,  which  here,  as  in  the  other  rooms,  do 
not  dwarf,  but  rather  add  to  the  sense  of  space.  A 
second  great  hall,  quite  at  the  other  end  of  the  palace, 
was  intended  for  imperial  ambassadors,  and  this,  too, 
has  I’ich  decoration,  a ceiling  coffered  and  lacquered, 
and  walls  of  lavish  gold,  adorned  with  maples  and 
blossoming  fruit  trees.  By  each  room  are  small 
reception-rooms  for  the  great  lords,  all  gorgeous  and 
all  dilferent,  having  screens  of  heron  and  wild  fowl, 
clouds  of  pink  cherry  blossoms,  Chinese  scenes  in 
sepia  and  dull  gold ; everywhere  the  same  abandon 
of  splendor,  yet  nowhere — and  this  is  the  abiding 
wonder — nowhere  in  it  all  is  there  anything  heavy, 
anything  oppressive  or  overwrought.  The  instinct  of 
restraint  has  been  here  also,  keeping  decoration  in  its 
place  and  holding  fancy  in  check,  as  with  an  inexor- 
able Greek  ixrjdev  ayav,  Nothing  in  excess. 


KYOTO— THE  PALACES. 


1G5 


Not  far  from  the  Nijo  palace  there  used  to  be  a 
famous  gate,  where  one  of  the  ancestors  of  the  INIina- 
moto  had  lively  dealings  with  a particularly  obnoxious 
ogre.  This  unpleasant  being  was  the  leader  of  a band 
of  his  kind,  who  lived  in  the  mountains,  and  had  a 
way  of  breaking  into  the  city  at  night  and  devouring 
anv  one  who  was  unluckv  enoufjh  to  be  found  on  the 
streets.  Raiko,  the  grandfather  of  Yo.duiye,  con- 
(jueror  of  the  Ainu,  determined  to  put  a stop  to  these 
doings;  so  he  set  his  men-at-arms  to  watch  with  him 
by  turns  at  the  gate  Rashomon. 

One  night  the  turn  fell  to  a young  man  named 
Tsuna.  As  it  drew  toward  dawn,  while  all  was  still, 
suddenly  the  knight  felt  something  elutch  him  by  the 
licjid ; a frightful  creature  was  reaching  down  from 
the  roof,  trying  to  drag  him  up  on  to  it.  Tsuna 
grasped  at  the  ogre  and  tried  to  ]>nll  him  down,  but  in 
vain,  and  he  was  being  slowly  lifted  off  his  feet,  when 
he  managed  to  free  one  hand,  draw  his  sword  and  cut 
off  the  monster’s  arm.  It  dropped  him  with  a howl 
and  fled,  and  much  delighted,  Tsuna  presented  him- 
self at  the  master’s  castle. 

As  it  was  an  affair  of  the  supernatural,  Raiko  sent 
the  young  man  to  consult  with  a famous  wizard,  who 
bade  him  jdace  the  arm  in  a chest  and  .seal  it  tight, 
and  pass  seven  days  and  nights  in  fasting  and  vigil, 
or  worse  would  come  of  it.  So  Tsuna  made  a strong 
box  for  the  arm,  and  .shut  himself  up  in  his  hoase, 
and  passed  the  time  devoutly  in  prayer. 


166 


JAPAN. 


When  the  seven  days  were  nearly  done,  one  night 
there  came  a great  knocking  at  the  gate.  Tsuna  called 
out  to  know  who  was  there,  and  a voice  answered  tliat 
it  was  his  old  aunt,  who  had  come  from  the  country  to 
congratulate  him.  Tsuna  explained  that  he  was  under 
a vow  to  talk  to  no  one  till  the  seven  days  were 
accomplished  ; but  the  old  lady  wept  and  pleaded,  and 
at  last  he  consented  to  let  her  in.  Then  nothing 
would  do  but  she  must  see  the  arm — the  wonderful 
arm;  she  never  saw  an  ogre  in  her  life,  and  she  was 
getting  old  and  might  never  have  another  chance; 
and  altogether  she  took  it  .so  to  heart  that  Tsuna 
finally  undid  the  cords  and  opened  the  lid  just  a little 
way;  when,  with  a yell  of  delight,  the  old  lady  sud- 
denly grasped  the  arm  and  shot  through  the  roof,  in 
the  true  form  of  a huge,  hairy  ogre.  Poor  Tsuna 
had  nothing  to  do  but  report  to  his  lord,  and  Raiko 
proceeded  to  get  up  an  expedition  to  chase  the  mon- 
sters to  tlieir  den,  where  he  finally  subdued  and  slew 
them. 

IMeanwhile,  however,  Raiko  himself  had  an  adven- 
ture. He  had  ridden  quite  far  from  the  city  one  day, 
unattended,  and  had  lost  his  way ; when  night  came, 
he  found  himself  in  a dreary  place  on  the  bank  of  a 
little  river,  in  which  was  reflected  the  faint  light  of  a 
young  moon.  Beside  the  river  stood  a ruined  temple, 
under  an  enormous  pine  tree,  and  under  the  pine  tree 
was  a toothless  old  hag,  dressed  in  white — the  color 
of  death.  Alighting  from  his  horse,  Raiko  politely 


KYOTO— THE  PALACES.  167 

asked  for  shelter  for  the  night.  The  old  woman  told 
him  he  had  best  go  elsewhere,  for  the  temple  was 
haunted  by  demons,  who  had  made  her  their  slave. 
Demons  being  quite  in  Raiko’s  line,  he  requested  to 
be  announced ; and  after  some  persuasion  the  hag  took 
him  within.  Here  he  found  a brilliant  hall,  and  in  it 
a lovely  damsel,  “with  eyes  like  .stars  and  teeth  like 
pearl.s,  and  lips  that  seemed  the  flower  of  the  peach.” 
This  lovely  being  smiled  tqton  him,  and  Raiko  gave 
himself  up  to  her  charms;  btit  prc.sently  the  l)i'ight 
eyes  began  to  glare,  the  mouth  to  grin  hideously, 
liaiko  reached  for  his  sword,  and  found  his  arms 
caught  in  a monster  spider’s  web,  while  the  beautiful 
woman  slowly  grew  before  his  eyes  into  a demon 
spider.  With  a mighty  effort,  Raiko  wrenched  his 
hands  free  and  drew  his  sword,  and  kee})ing  the  crea- 
ture at  bay,  strove  to  cut  himself  loose  from  the  toils. 
The  lights  went  out;  he  struck  wildly  about  the  hall, 
and  suddenly  his  sword  clashed  against  something 
hard  as  iron.  Just  then  day  broke,  and  web,  demon, 
all  di.sappeared ; but  in  the  ruined  temple  he  found  a 
monster  sj)idcr,  cleft  in  two ; and  by  the  gray  blood 
that  dripped  upon  the  floor  he  knew  her  for  a demon 
of  the  most  diabolical  kind. 

In  tho.se  days  Kyoto  was  full  of  palaces;  every 
noble’s  residence  was  a cluster  of  buildings  surrounded 
by  high  walls  and  gates,  within  which  were  spaces  for 
the  ox-cars,  and  then  walls  again  and  more  giites,  and 
finally  the  ma.stei’’s  dwelling,  flanked  by  tlie  kitchens 


KJ8 


JAPAN. 


and  outhouses  and  the  lodgings  for  the  retainers,  much 
as  in  a Yedo  yashiki  of  six  or  eiglit  hundred  years 
later.  But  as  the  troubles  of  the  Court  increased,  the 
houses  of  the  Kuge  nobles  diminished,  and  under  the 
disloyal  Ashikaga  Shoguns  the  imperial  palace  even 
was  often  greatly  in  need  of  repair.  After  so  many 
disasters,  the  wonder  is  not  that  there  should  be  little 
left  of  Kyoto’s  past  grandeur,  but  that  there  is  any- 
thing left  at  all. 

Besides  the  two  great  palaces,  there  are  a few  minor 
ones  still  standing  about  Kyoto,  most  of  them  origin- 
ally intended  for  retired  emperors,  such  as  the  Awata 
palace,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  not  far  from 
Yaami’s  hotel ; this  was  built  for  the  Emperor  Seiwa, 
who  came  to  the  throne  at  nine  years  and  left  it  at 
thirty  — not  necessarily,  however,  to  resign  the  real 
power;  but  he  died  at  Awata  the  following  year. 
Seiwa’s  grandfather  was  one  of  the  Fujiwara  family, 
and  acted  as  Regent  during  the  young  Emperor’s  mi- 
nority, and  in  this  way  gained  the  ascendency  which 
the  Fujiwara  exercised  for  so  long.  Some  quite  old 
buildings  stood  here,  but  were  burnt  down  some  ten 
years  ago,  and  a beautiful  little  palace  has  been  built 
ou  the  old  site,  the  sliding  screens  and  other  portions 
of  it  being  decorated  with  fine  paintings  of  the  Tosa 
and  Kano  schools.  The  place  is  kept  as  a .sort  of  art 
gallery,  and  in  the  grounds  beyond  two  buildings  are 
still  standing  which  were  left  over  from  the  National 
Exhibition  in  1895;  they  are  used  for  industrial  and 


KYOTO— THE  PALACES. 


169 


fine  arts  exhibitions.  Just  beyond  is  another  piece  of 
art  education,  a restoration  on  a small  scale  of  the  im- 
perial palace,  as  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  in  the  time 
of  the  Emperor  Kwammu,  founder  of  Kyoto.  It  is 
very  Chinese,  and  very'  curious ; the  roofs  are  covered 
■with  green  glazed  tiles,  and  end  in  turrets  turning  up 
at  the  corners,  and  there  are  doors  instead  of  sliding 
screens,  and  gorgeous  red  lacquered  pillars  of  hinoki 
wood  resting  on  stone  floors.  Certainly  the  Court  was 
under  Chinese  influence,  indeed,  to  have  housed  itself  in 
such  a buildino;.  It  is  another  evidence  of  the  streuffth 
of  Japanese  individuality,  that  they  should  have  so 
entirely  thrown  off  or  modified  these  influences  after 
once  adopting  them. 

Quite  on  the  other  side  of  Kyoto,  and  a good  dis- 
tiuice  out  as  the  city  stands  now,  is  another  monastery 
palace,  called  Omuro  Gosho,  founded  for  ex-emperors 
and  used  chiefly  for  members  of  the  imperial  family, 
who  resided  there  as  prince  abbots.  The  ex-Emperor 
Uda  lived  here  for  thirty  years  as  a Ho-o,  or  imperial 
devotee,  doubtless  exercising  a great  deal  of  control 
over  the  affairs  of  the  empire,  for  after  reigning  five 
years  he  had  retired  in  favor  of  a son  only  thirteen 
years  old.  Uda  was  an  able  man,  but  his  greatest 
claim  to  admiration  was  his  wise  choice  of  a prime 
minister,  Sugiwara  Michizane,  one  of  the  noblest  men 
of  old  .Taj)an,  as  well  as  one  of  the  greatest  .statesmen. 

It  may  be  no  particular  virtue  on  the  part  of  a ruler 
to  have  able  officers ; but  in  Uda’s  ca.se  the  choice  at 


170 


JAPAN. 


least  implied  some  force  of  character,  for  he  went  out  of 
the  established  order  of  things  to  make  it,  since  during 
two  or  three  generations  the  prime  ministers  had  all 
been  chosen  from  the  Fujiwara  family,  who  practically 
controlled  the  throne,  and  had  come  to  look  on  the 
oiBce  as  tlieir  hereditary  right.  The  Sugiwara  were 
their  greatest  rivals,  and  part  of  ISIichizane’s  efforts 
went  toward  lessening  the  Fujiwara  power.  Besides 
tlie  office  of  prime  minister,  Michizane  held  that  of 
tutor  to  the  young  Emperor  Daigo,  and  served  him 
also  as  prime  minister  after  Uda’s  retirement. 

One  of  Michizane’s  wise  strokes  of  policy  was  to 
discontinue  the  gifts  to  the  Emperor  of  China,  which 
Japan  had  been  sending  for  several  generations.  The 
reason  given  was  that  the  Chinese  dynasty  being  un- 
settled, there  was  no  knowing  who  might  be  on  the 
throne  when  the  messengers  arrived ; but  the  real 
reason  probably  was  that  China  was  beginning  to 
regard  the  gifts  as  tribute,  and  as  an  acknowledgment 
of  her  suzerainty — sometliing  Japan  by  no  means 
intended. 

But  the  Fujiwara  plotted  against  him  and  accused 
him  to  Daigo,  saying  that  IMichizane  was  intrigu- 
ing to  get  Daigo  deposed  and  make  his  younger  brother 
Emperor  in  his  place,  this  brother  being  the  son-in- 
law  of  Michizane.  The  ex -Emperor  did  all  that 
he  could  to  save  Michizane  ; but  Daigo  believed  the 
story  and  took  his  high  office  from  him,  apjiointing 
him  “Governor  of  Dazaifu,”  a little  place  in  northern 


KYOTO-TFIE  PALACES. 


171 


Kiushiu,  to  which  it  was  the  custom  to  banish  political 
otFenders.  Had  he  been  so  minded,  Michizane  might 
easily  have  rebelled  against  his  master — perhaps  have 
done  what  he  was  accused  of  plotting ; but  no  tempta- 
tion could  induce  him  to  show  the  least  disloyalty. 
Popular  fancy  has  added  many  picturesque  details  of 
tlie  hardships  which  he  is  supposed  to  have  suffered  in 
that  half-barbarous  country ; in  pictures  he  is  repre- 
sented riding  about  tlie  country  on  a cow — tlie  only 
means  of  conveyance  possible.  And  legends  describe 
him,  ragged  and  starving,  and  dying  at  last  of  expo- 
sure and  homesickness,  his  eyes  turned  ever  toward 
the  land  of  Yamato,  his  last  words  in  honor  of  his 
ungrateful  master.  All  nature  loved  and  cared  for 
him.  One  day,  as  he  looked  on  the  spring  flowers, 
he  cried  out  in  longing  for  the  plum  tree  of  his  own 
garden  in  Kyoto,  and,  even  while  he  spoke,  the  tree 
flew  over  the  sea  and  the  mountains  and  planted  itself 
at  his  feet. 

When  he  was  dead  all  the  j)Cople  mourned  bitterly 
for  him,  and  dire  misfortunes  began  to  befall  the 
country,  which  were  popularly  attributed  to  the  anger 
of  the  gods  on  account  of  the  injustice  wrought 
agixinst  him.  Presently  a number  of  the  folloAvers  of 
the  Fuji wara,  who  had  compassed  his  ruin,  died  one 
by  one,  and  the  Emperor  became  convinced  that  he 
had  been  deceived,  and  in  sorrow  and  repentance 
raised  Michizane  to  posthumous  honors  ; afterward  he 
was  deified  under  the  name  of  Tenjiu.  The  Kameido 


172 


JAPAN. 


temple,  in  Tokyo,  which  is  dedicated  to  liim,  is  copied 
from  the  one  at  Dazaifii,  in  Kiushiu,  where  lie  lived 
during  his  exile,  and  where  he  died.  It  is  he  who  is 
the  patron  saint  of  all  who  wish  to  write  well,  because 
he  added  to  his  other  aecomplishraents  the  art  of  form- 
ing most  beautiful  letters,  even  more  beautiful  and 
wonderful  than  those  of  Kobo  Daishi,  the  Nara  saint. 

Two  other  palaces  there  are  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Kyoto — or,  rather,  two  gardens,  for  the  buildings  are 
of  minor  importance  ; they  are  both  used  as  villas  by 
the  Emperor,  and  cannot  be  seen  without  special  per- 
mit. One,  the  Shugaku-in,  has  a charming  situation, 
quite  away  in  the  country,  on  the  lower  slope  of  IMount 
Iliezan ; the  other  is  nearer  the  city,  on  the  side 
toward  the  hills  beyond  the  Katsnra  river ; it  is  called 
Katsura  no  Rikyu  (summer  palace  of  Katsura), 
I'ecause  it  belonged  to  the  Katsura  branch  of  the 
imperial  family.  The  charm  here  is  an  exceedingly 
pretty  garden,  in  the  most  exact  style  of  the  cha-no-yu, 
or  tea-ceremony  gardens — a place  of  trees  and  little 
hills  and  rocks,  of  lakes  and  streams,  and  bridges  and 
plain  little  summer-houses,  all  typifying  that  .serenity 
of  mind  a true  devotee  should  strive  to  cultivate. 

But  the  cradle  of  cha-no-yu  in  Japan  is  over  on 
the  other  side  of  the  city,  a little  way  out  toward  the 
hills  now,  though  in  the  palmy  days  it  nuust  have  been 
almo.st  in  the  town.  It  is  the  Ginkakuji,  or  Silver 
Pavilion,  so  ealled  in  imitation  of  the  Golden  Pavilion 
(Kinkakuji),  built  about  a hundred  years  earlier. 


KYOTO-THE  PALACES. 


173 


Both  were  the  work  of  the  Ashikaga  Shoguns,  and 
both  were  intended  for  the  same  purpose — pretended 
retirement  from  the  world  and  actual  indulgence  in  all 
its  delights. 

The  Kinkakuji  lies  north  of  the  city,  and  well  out 
of  it  now,  reached  by  a long  ride  through  pretty  laims, 
where  you  hear  the  clatter  of  looms  and  silk  reels  all 
day  long.  The  place  wa.s,  and  still  is,  a monastery  of 
the  Zen  sect,  the  one  which  lays  stress  on  mystic  con- 
templation, and  was  naturally  a favorite  with  the  cul- 
tivated ujiper  class,  as  the  “ Nembutsu  ” was  with 
the  illiterate.  Here  the  Shogun  A.shikaga  A'oshimitsu 
retired  after  fifteen  years  of  actual  rule,  and  ten  before 
that,  when  he  was  still  a boy  and  the  nominal  Shogun, 
after  his  father  had  retired.  With  all  his  extrava- 
gance and  self-indulgence,  Yoshimitsu  was  a really 
able  ruler,  as  well  as  a clever  politician  ; he  made  the 
country  peaceful,  and  encouraged  trade,  industry  and 
all  the  arts. 

The  Golden  Pavilion  stands  beside  a little  lake, 
dotted  with  tiny  island.s,  among  magnificent  old  pine 
trees,  and  surrounded  by  a dainty  garden  laid  out  in 
the  usual  picturesque  style.  It  is  a large,  three-story 
building,  with  galleries  running  all  around  and  nxjfs 
turning  up  a little  at  the  corners ; the  topmost  storj" 
is  a good  deal  smaller  than  the  two  below,  and  is 
crowned  by  a bronze  phoenix,  with  wings  spread.  It 
was  built  with  the  finest  timbers  that  could  be  found, 
which  the  feudal  lords  were  required  to  furnish  for 


174 


JAPAN. 


the  purpose ; and  dull  and  shabby  as  it  looks  to-day, 
there  are  traces  left  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  story 
that  it  was  gilded  all  over,  from  bottom  to  top — walls, 
ceilings,  woodwork,  even  the  projecting  beams  and 
the  railings  of  the  galleries,  covered  with  gold-dust, 
thickly  laid  on  a lacquer  ground.  Here  Yoshimitsu 
mingled  his  plans  for  the  administration  of  the  empire 
and  his  meditations  on  the  Zen  doctrine  with  banquets 
and  poetical  contests,  and  exhibitions  of  music  and 
dancing — those  choruses  and  pantomime  dances  from 
which  lyric  drama  afterwards  .sprang. 

Yoshimasa,  the  builder  of  the  Ginkakuji,  seems  to 
have  had  neither  ability  nor  virtue  of  any  kind.  Even 
before  he  retired,  he  left  the  whole  care  of  the  admin- 
istration to  the  Regent,  and  taxed  the  people  past 
endurance  to  get  money  with  which  to  gratify  his 
extravagant  tastes.  The  inevitable  consequences  fol- 
lowed in  due  course  : revolts  among  the  people,  open 
theft  and  plundering,  and  among  the  nobility  feuds 
and  plofs  and  counterplots.  Yoshimasa  lived  to  see 
Kyoto  an  eleven  years’  battle-field.  The  Muramachi 
Shoguns  had  lived  on  the  princijde,  ajyres  moi  le 
(Wage;  and  the  deluge  duly  came,  reducing  Kyoto  to 
a heap  of  ruins  and  burying  the  debauched  dynasty 
under  the  debris.”’ 

The  pavilion  does  not  seem  to  have  been  really  cov- 
ered with  silvei’,  but  in  it  and  the  apartments  of  the 
palace-monastery  he  gathered  rare  pictures  and  por- 

* “Japan  Illustrated.” 


KYOTO— THE  PALACES. 


175 


celain  and  other  works  of  art,  both  native  and 
Chinese,  some  of  which  are  .said  to  be  those  still  pre- 
served by  the  monks.  In  tlie  garden  is  a heap  of 
sand,  called  the  Silver  Sand  Platform,  and  beyond 
that  the  Mound  Facing  the  Moon,  where  Yoshimasa 
and  Ids  chosen  spirits  would  sit  and  enjoy  esthetic 
contemj)lation  ; and  near  by  is  a small  separate  build- 
ing, which  was  the  first  tea-house  of  the  prescribed 
Ibur-aud-a-half  mats  ever  built  in  Japan. 

How  shall  I describe  a tea  ceremony  ? The  mys- 
terious virtue  and  charm  tliereof  is  one  of  the  thiufrs 
that  puzzle  a AVestern  mind  almost  a.s  much  as  some 
of  our  habits — for  instance,  that  of  doing  our  own 
dancing — surprises  and  bothers  the  Eastern.  AVhy 
do  they  like  to  do  it?  AA^hat  is  there  in  it  beyond 
what  meets  the  eye  ? For  something  there  certainly 
must  be,  and  that  something  not  utterly  childish, 
either,  to  attract  the  men  who  have  })racticed  it,  both 
in  the  past  and  the  present.  If  the  cha-jin — tea- 
devotee — whom  you  see  perforndng  the  rites,  happens 
to  be  an  e.\-Daimyo,  like  the  courtly  old  prince  who 
unfohls  the  mysteries  to  the  daughters  of  the  nobility 
at  the  Kazoku  school,  the  thing  seems  to  have  a cer- 
tain t)ld-world  appropriateness;  he  seems  to  be  per- 
jK'tuating  the  Ici.surcly  fashion  of  his  former  days,  and 
fa.shion  is  always  a law  to  itself.  Put  if  your  host  is 
a distinguished  scientist,  a man  po.sted  on  the  last 
results  of  European  thought  and  experiment,  the 
fashion  theory  breaks  down  ; men  of  that  stamp  do 


176 


JAPAN. 


not  go  in  for  mysteries,  just  because  it  is  the  “correct 
thing.”  There  must  be  something  deeper  about  this 
strange  cha-uo-yu,  which  everybody  talks  about  and 
few  attempt  to  describe. 

The  truth  is  that  description  fails  to  give  any  clear 
sense  of  the  impression  of  it.  Its  essence  is  an  affair 
of  mental  atmosphere,  as  of  a religious  exerci.se; 
and  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  its  origin  the  rite 
actually  was  religious,  being  practiced  chiefly  as  an 
aid  to  meditation.  The  very  origin  of  tea  has  a re- 
ligious legend.  There  was  once  a holy  priest  who  had 
vowed  to  spend  a certain  number  of  days  and  nights, 
fasting  and  without  sleep,  in  devout  meditation ; but 
being  overcome  with  fatigue,  he  gave  way  and  slept 
before  the  time  was  over.  Waking,  in  dismay  over 
the  breaking  of  his  vow,  he  plucked  off  his  eyelids 
and  flung  them  from  him  ; and  where  they  fell  there 
sprang  up  a little  plant  of  aromatic  leaves,  whose 
virtue  was  such  that  they  drove  away  all  temptation 
to  slumber.  Henceforth  the  raising  and  brewing  of 
tea  was  a part  of  every  monastery  service. 

Both  the  plant  and  the  use  of  it  originated  in  China, 
and  spread  east  and  west  from  there.  It  is  a species 
of  camelia,  and  looks  not  unlike  the  plants  of  our 
green-houses,  except  that  the  leaves  are  smaller,  thinner 
and  less  leathery,  and  the  flowers  are  single,  as  in  the 
wild  camelia  ; they  are  white  and  rather  wax-like,  and 
about  an  inch  across,  looking  not  unlike  a wild  rose. 
The  plants  are  trimmed  low,  in  round,  compact  bushes. 


KYOTO— THE  PALACES. 


177 


and  plantations  of  them  have  a very  pretty  effect  on 
the  hillsides,  where  they  are  generally  set  out,  the 
dark  glossy  green  making  a pretty  contrast  with  the 
vivid  tones  of  the  rice  in  the  fields  just  below.  In 
some  places — for  instance,  around  Kyoto  and  Kara, 
where  the  best  tea  is  raised — the  bushes  are  planted  on 
the  level  plain ; but  when  this  is  done  there  must  be 
great  care  to  secure  under  drainage.  Their  favorite 
situation  is  on  a gentle  slope,  where  water  will  drain 
off  without  carrying  away  the  soil,  for  they  need  a 
great  deal  of  enrichment  and  deep  working.  Much 
of  the  Hokkaido  oil-cakes  and  fish  guano  go  to  manure 
the  tea  plantations,  and  a great  deal  of  seaweed  from 
all  along  the  coast. 

The  finest  cpiality  of  tea  is  raised  around  Uji,  near 
Kara,  and  a great  deal  is  also  produced  on  the  foot- 
hills near  Mount  Fuji,  and,  indeed,  all  along  the 
Tokaido ; a large  part  of  this  goes  up  to  Yokohama 
to  be  refired  and  packed  for  export.  There  are  two 
pickings,  the  first  in  May,  when  the  young  leaves  have 
just  put  out,  and  this  is  the  smaller  quantity,  but 
finer  quality  ; the  second  comes  five  or  six  weeks  later, 
after  the  June  rains,  when  the  leaves  are  more  fully 
grown  and  less  tender.  The  more  quickly  they  are 
dried,  the  better  the  flavor.  Women  and  girls  do  the 
picking,  and  their  bright  sa.shes  and  red  petticoats  and 
plump  arm.s,  bared  by  the  tied-back  sleeves,  make  a 
j)icturesque  sight.  They  pick  into  large,  flat  bas- 
kets, bringing  them  back  to  be  weighed  at  a cen- 
VoL.  II.— 12 


178 


JAPAN. 


tral  shed ; four  pounds  of  fresh  leaves  go  to  a pound 
of  tea. 

Naturally  there  is  a great  dilference  in  the  quality 
of  the  leaf,  which  depends  both  on  the  seed  planted 
and  the  care  used  in  cultivating,  and,  too,  on  the 
climate  in  which  the  bush  is  grown.  Thus,  on  the 
west  coast  of  Japan,  around  Niigata  for  instance,  no 
amount  of  protecting  with  mats  will  save  the  leaf 
from  being  atfected  by  the  cold  winter  and  the  spring 
frosts ; it  becomes  coarse  and  bitter.  It  is  a very 
common  thing  through  the  country  for  people  to  raise 
a little  tea  for  their  own  use ; just  a few  bushes, 
planted  perhaps  like  a hedge  along  their  fields,  as 
European  peasants  often  raise  their  own  grapes  and 
make  their  own  wine. 

The  difference  between  green  and  black  tea  is  simply 
a matter  of  prepai’ation ; leaves  taken  from  the  same 
bush  will  produce  either  kind,  according  to  the  way 
they  are  dried.  As  the  Japanese  themselves  use  it, 
the  tea  is  nearly  sage-color  before  the  water  goes  on  it, 
and  the  decoction  is  of  a pale  golden  tint — the  better 
the  tea,  the  lighter  the  color,  except  only  the  ceremo- 
nial tea,  which  is  differently  treated. 

The  first  process  is  steaming,  which  is  done  in  a 
sieve  set  over  an  iron  pan  half  full  of  water,  which  is 
kept  boiling  by  a steady  charcoal  fire.  This  takes 
only  a few  minutes,  the  object  being  to  make  the 
leaves  soft  and  pliable.  As  soon  as  they  give  out  a 
strong  scent  of  tea,  they  are  tossed  out  on  flat  pans 


KYOTO-THE  PALACES. 


179 


and  quickly  cooled,  when  they  are  ready  for  the  more 
important  process  of  firing.  For  this  the  leaves  are 
put  into  a frame  covered  with  strong  paper,  set  over  a 
gentle  fire  on  a kind  of  hearth ; the  bottom  does  not 
come  nearer  than  half  a yard  to  the  coals,  else  it 
would  scorch  and  also  heat  the  tea  too  much.  While 
they  are  in  this  frame  a man  works  over  them  for 
several  hours,  rolling  them  with  his  hands,  forming 
them  into  balls  and  pressing  them  against  the  sides  of 
the  frame,  breaking  the  balls  and  rolling  again,  till  all 
the  leaves  are  curled  and  twisted  up.  Then  he  spreads 
them  out  on  warmed  frames,  and  lets  them  dry  for 
several  hours,  when  they  are  quite  brittle  and  ready  to 
sort  and  pack.  A good  many  flower  buds,  bits  of 
twig,  old  seed  pods  and  .so  on  get  in  among  the  leaves, 
and  these  are  now  picked  out,  and  the  leaves  also  sorted 
into  sizes,  fine  and  large,  so  that  the  tea  shall  look 
evenly  graded  and  attractive.  This  is  work  for  the 
girls  and  women,  and  their  light  fingers  do  it  mar- 
velously fast. 

Treated  in  this  way  the  tea  will  keep  for  years  in 
tight  glazed  jars  of  pottery  or  porcelain,  such  as  the 
Japanese  themsAves  use,  but  it  will  not  bear  transpor- 
tation. Therefore,  the  tea  merchants  in  Yokohama 
and  Kobe  build  their  large  tea  go-downs,  and  when 
the  crop  comes  in  they  have  it  retired  until  it  is 
entirely  dry,  and  can  be  packed  down  in  the 
chests  lined  with  lead  which  come  to  us  in  the 
West,  Naturally  this  adds  much  to  the  cost  of  the 


180 


JAPAN. 


tea,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  other  way  to  make  it  fit 
for  exp(^rt. 

As  might  be  expected,  it  was  the  Buddhist  priests 
who  first  introduced  tea  in  Japan.  Tradition  has  it 
that  about  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century  a priest 
named  Yeisei  went  on  a mission  to  China,  and  wlien 
he  returned  he  brought  with  him  some  tea  seeds  which 
he  planted  on  a mountain  in  the  western  part  of  the 
country,  and  raised  therefrom  a good  crop  of  bushes ; 
whereupon  he  presented  some  of  the  choicest  leaves  to 
a distinguished  friend,  “ who  relished  them  as  a rare 
tonic  against  headache.”  Another  priest  then  trans- 
planted some  of  the  bushes  to  Mount  Togano,  near 
Kyoto,  where  they  flourished,  and  spread  through  the 
country.  This  abbot  is  considered  the  founder  of  tea 
cnlture,  and  at  Uji  they  hold  a service  in  his  memory 
every  spring. 

The  ceremonial  observance — the  cha-no-yu — was 
not  brought  to  Japan  till  much  later,  about  the  middle 
of  the  thirteenth  century,  when  a set  of  utensils  were 
sent  over  from  China ; and  at  first  it  was  a semi- 
religious pastime  of  the  cloistered  priests.  Later  this 
tea  service  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  first  Ashikaga 
Shogun,  Takauji,  he  who  was  so  disloyal  to  the  Em- 
peror Go-Daigo ; and  from  that  time  it  became  a 
favorite  excuse  for  displays  of  extravag-ance,  till 
reformed  and  laid  under  the  most  stringent  rules  of 
simplicity  by  the  great  masters  of  Hideyoshi’s  time. 

There  is  a little  story  told  about  Rikyu,  the  most 


KYOTO— THE  PALACES. 


181 


famous  of  these  cha-jin,  and  the  one  who  gave  most 
of  the  rules  of  the  art.  It  seems  some  one  tried  to 
run  Rikyu  a little  on  the  occult  secrets  of  his  cult,  to 
which  Rikyu  replied,  “ Well,  there  is  no  particular 
secret  in  the  ceremony,  save  in  making  tea  agreeable 
to  the  taste,  in  piling  charcoal  on  the  brazier  so  as  to 
make  a good  tire  for  boiling  the  water,  in  arranging 
flowers  in  a vase  in  a natural  way,  and  in  making 
things  look  cool  in  summer  and  warm  in  winter.” 
The  questioner  answered  rather  contemptuously, 
“Who  doesn’t  know  how  to  do  all  that?”  To  which 
Rikyu  answered,  “ Very  well ; if  you  know,  let  us 
sec  you  do  it.” 

That  is  all  there  is  of  it  really ; a series  of  very 
simple  actions  reduced  to  a fine  art,  each  several  act 
and  movement  made  in  the  easiest  way,  and  therefore 
the  most  graceful.  All  that  is  on  the  outside,  that  is ; 
for  the  real  object  is  no  more  the  making  and  drinking 
of  tea  than  the  drill  of  a body  of  soldiers  or  the  exer- 
cises of  a gymnasium  are  an  end  in  themselves.  The 
true  secret  of  cha-no-yu  is  that  it  is  meant  to  be  an  exer- 
cise, a means  of  discipline  and  training,  for  the  body, 
indeed,  outwardly,  but  most  of  all  for  the  mind,  which 
must  be  absolutely  withdrawn  from  all  worldly  cares 
and  excitements,  and  tuned  to  a jterfect  serenity. 
“ Xot  upon  utensils  or  external  environment,  but  upon 
the  minds  of  the  participants,  depends  the  success  of 
the  ceremony,”  says  Professor  Takashima;  and  he 
quotes  from  Rikyu : “ It  is  ridiculous  to  make  ado 


182 


JAPAN. 


about  costly  utensils  when  all  that  is  required  in  cha- 
no-yu  is  a kettle.” 

Professor  Takashima  quotes  a pretty  story  to  illus- 
trate this  point.  “ It  happened  over  sixty  years  ago 
that  one  day  the  tlimous  poet,  Arikoto,  in  a walk 
through  a street  in  Kyoto,  came  across  a little  hut  by 
the  roadside,  with  a little  patch  of  ground  about  it  and 
two  or  three  trees,  thoroughly  sprinkled  with  water 
and  looking  very  refreshing.”  (It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  such  a Japanese  garden  would  be  strewn 
with  pebbles  among  the  shrubbery,  so  that  the  sprink- 
ling they  are  so  fond  of  implies  no  mud  or  draggled 
grass.)  “ He  saw  inside  this  humble  cottage  a man 
practicing  cha-no-yu  all  by  himself.  lie  was  seated 
in  a little  space  of  not  more  than  six  feet  by  three, 
scrupulously  clean,  and  on  the  wall  was  hung  a screen 
with  a rai*e  autograph  poem  by  a famous  poet.” 

Arikoto  was  so  surprised  that  he  made  some  excuse 
to  enter,  and  talked  to  the  man  about  cha-no-yu ; 
finally  the  unknown  invited  the  poet  to  become  his 
guest  at  cha-no-yu  early  the  next  morning — the  proper 
time  for  such  meetings — in  the  forest  near  by. 

“ This  strange  invitation  was  at  once  accepted.  Next 
morning,  upon  coming  to  the  appointed  place,  Arikoto 
found  three  stools  beneath  a shady  tree.  The  old  re- 
cluse, in  a coarse  but  clean  dress,  received  his  distin- 
guished guest  most  cordially,  and  went  through  the  tea 
ceremony  in  a masterly  way,  the  utensils  emjJoyed 
being  of  the  humblest  description,  such  as  may  be 


KYOTO— THE  PALACES. 


183 


found  any  day  in  the  kitchen.  As  the  guest  was  about 
to  drink,  they  heard  overhead  tlie  sweet  tones  of  a 
niglitingale,  much  to  the  delight  of  the  host.  It  is 
said  that  when  a messenger  was  dispatched  next  day 
with  a bounteous  j)resent  for  the  hermit,  he  had  disap- 
peared no  one  knew  where.” 

Stripped  of  all  non-essentials,  the  requirements  of  a 
cha-no-yu  meeting  are  these  : 

A small  room,  perfectly  clean  and  retired  from  all 
disturbance;  one  picture  or  autogra])h  verse,  one 
flower. 

A clean,  fresh  fire. 

Kettle,  teapot,  tea-jar,  cups ; bamboo  dipper  and 
whisk.  (Ceremonial  tea  is  not  only  of  very  dioice 
quality,  but  it  must  be  ground  to  a fine  powder ; it 
mixes  witli  the  water,  and  the  host  whi[)s  it  to  a pale 
green  froth.) 

Finally,  a select  party  of  friends,  all  prepared  to 
withdraw  their  minds  from  care  and  exeitement,  and 
centre  them  on  moral  and  esthetic  ideas. 

I'lverything  about  tlie  ceremony  is  simply  a carrying 
out  of  these  principles.  Tims  the  tea-room  should  be 
apart  from  the  rest  of  the  house ; it  should  be  small, 
and  it  should  be  perfectly  plain,  that  there  may  be 
nothing  to  distract  the  eye ; spotle.ssly  pure  it  must  be, 
and  the  woodwork  and  mats  should  be  of  the  best  pos- 
sible (piality.  I know  of  just  one  thing  in  the  world 
that  gave  the  same  kind  of  impression  as  these  cha- 
no-yu  rooms,  and  that  was  the  parlor  of  an  old-fash- 


184 


JAPAN. 


ioned  Quaker  house,  in  its  summer  dress  of  white  mat- 
ting, the  green  Venetian  blinds  at  the  windows,  and 
the  spotless  linen  covers  on  the  plain  mahogany  furni- 
ture. There  was  just  that  same  impression  of  purity 
and  restraint — and  costly  simplicity,  too ; for  the  very 
best  material  suited  our  Philadelphia  Quakers,  as  well 
as  the  cha-uo-yii  masters.  Alas  ! such  rooms  are  no 
more. 

It  was  this  desire  for  things  that  looked  perfectly 
plain  and  cost  enormously  that  led  to  the  unearthing 
of  old  Korean  pottery,  and  the  efforts  of  Japanese 
potters  to  imitate  their  styles.  The  cha-no-yu  cup  is 
much  larger  than  the  ordinary  one,  and  to  the  un- 
learned eye  it  looks  like  any  old  kitchen  bowl,  but  the 
wise  know  by  the  shape  and  glaze  and  color  just  which 
province  produced  it,  and  how  many  years  it  has  spent 
in  the  soft  brocade  bag  in  which  such  things  are  wrap- 
ped ; perhaps  even  the  ideograph  of  the  famous  potter 
who  fashioned  it  to  serve  the  Taiko  Hideyoshi  and  his 
clique.  The  kettle  and  tea-jar,  too,  are  often  pieces  of 
great  antiquity  and  beauty.  There  is  a certain  .stage 
in  the  proceedings  at  which  it  is  pi’oper  for  the  guests 
to  ask  to  look  at  and  admire  these  things. 

When  a cha-no-yu  party  has  been  invited,  the  host 
himself  sees  to  it  that  not  only  the  room,  but  the  garden 
is  in  order ; in  .summer  the  ground  should  be  spread 
wdth  pine  needles  and  sprinkled  with  water,  and  in 
winter,  if  there  is  snow  (which  will  delight  his  heart), 
the  stepping  stones  only  must  be  carefully  swept.  All 


KYOTO— THE  PALACES. 


185 


the  necessary  articles  must  be  in  place,  from  the  screen 
in  the  tokonoma  (alcove)  to  the  cushions  for  the  guests 
and  the  kettle  and  charcoal  basket.  When  his  guests 
arriv^e,  he  meets  them  and  asks  them  to  enter  the  tea- 
room, wliich  they  do  one  by  one,  stooping  their  heads 
to  its  purposely  low  entrance ; the  last  guest  shuts  the 
door  with  a little  click,  to  announce  to  the  host  that 
they  are  all  in.  He  then  appears  from  another  room, 
and  welcomes  them ; the  chief  guest  should  make 
some  remark  about  the  neatness  of  the  garden.  The 
host  now  builds  the  fire,  and  if  there  is  a meal,  it  is 
served  tlien,  and  tlie  guests  afterwards  retire  to  another 
room  while  he  arranges  fresli  flowers,  hangs  a suitable 
])icture,  {)laces  all  the  appliances  in  readiness  on  the 
door,  and  summons  them  to  return. 

All  the  actions  which  now  take  place  are,  as  Rikyu 
said,  merely  making  tea;  but  each  movement  is  accord- 
ing to  set  rule,  and  is  performed  with  a deliberation 
beside  which  a mass  at  St.  Peter’s  would  be  galloping 
haste.  Possibly  some  one  trained  in  the>8wedish  sys- 
tem of  physical  cidture  might  learn  to  move  as  slowly 
and  smoothly ; certainly  no  ordinary  American  could. 
The  tea  is  taken  out  of  the  jar,  the  water  poured  on  it, 
the  mixture  whipped  and  passed  round,  each  guest 
drinking  in  turn,  wiping  the  enp  and  passing  it  to  his 
neighbor.  When  the  cup  returns  to  the  host,  he  washes 
it,  and  makes  a fresh  supply  of  what  is  called  usucha, 
weak  tea;  at  this  moment  the  guests  may  examine  and 
comment  upon  the  utensils. 


186 


JAPAN. 


The  tea  ceremony  is  said  to  have  been  encouraged  by 
Hideyoshi,  leyasu  and  otlier  rulers  for  the  purpose  of 
quieting  the  unruly  spirits  of  the  Samurai:  and  though 
no  doubt  such  meetings  were  often  used  as  opportuni- 
ties for  political  scheming,  in  theory  nothing  of  the 
sort  was  to  be  mentioned ; all  was  to  be  ethical,  es- 
thetic, uplifting.  One  important  rule  was  that  no 
arms  were  to  be  brought  into  the  enclosure;  swords 
must  be  left  in  the  sword-rack  outside.  There  is  a 
story  that  Hideyoshi’s  general,  Kato  Kiyomasa,  the 
conqueror  of  Korea — he  who  built  the  keep  of  Xa- 
goya  castle — insisted  on  entering  the  room  with  his 
swoi’d  on,  taking  it  off  and  laying  it  by  his  side,  on  the 
ground  that  it  was  imseemly  not  to  be  equipped  and 
ready  for  his  master’s  service  in  any  emergency. 
Rikyu  said  nothing,  but  bided  his  time.  One  day, 
when  the  doughty  knight  came  to  a party  and  sat 
down  as  usual,  the  tea-master  suddenly  u])set  the  kettle 
over  the  brazier,  filling  the  room  with  a cloud  of  ashes, 
and  Kiyomasa  fled  outside,  quite  forgetting  his  sword. 
Rikyu  quietly  hung  it  on  the  rack,  swept  up  the  room 
and  Invited  the  guests  to  return,  whereupon  Kiyomasa 
missed  his  sword  and  rushed  to  the  cha-jin  in  great 
dismay,  only  to  be  politely  referred  to  the  sword-rack, 
where,  said  the  host,  he  would  find  it  ready  for  any 
sudden  need.  It  is  said  that  from  that  time  Kiyomasa 
obeyed  the  laws  of  the  tea-room. 


CHAPTER  X. 


KYOTO — THE  TEMPLES. 


“ It  is  almost  ubiquitous,  this  perfume  of  incense.  It  makes  one 
element  of  the  faint,  but  comple.x  and  never-to-be-forgotten  odor 
of  tlie  Far  East.  It  haunts  the  dwelling-house  no  less  than  the 
temple,  the  home  of  the  peasant  not  less  than  the  yashiki  of  the 
prince.  Shinto  shrines,  indeed,  are  free  from  it,  incense  being  an 
abomination  to  the  elder  gods.  But  wherever  Buddhism  is,  there 
is  incense.  In  every  house  containing  a Buddhist  shrine,  or  Bud- 
dhist tablets,  incense  is  burned  at  certain  times;  and  even  in  rude 
country  districts  you  will  find  incense  smouldering  before  wayside 
images — little  stone  figures  of  Fudo,  Jizo,  or  Kwannon.” 

— Hearn,  “Ghostly  Japan.” 

Kyoto,  the  strongliold  of  Baddliisni,  is  the  natural 
liome  of  the  incense-maker ; and  you  may  know  his 
shop  as  you  pass  by  the  mingled  odor  wafted  from  it. 
For  the  most  part  it  is  an  exceedingly  delicate  per- 
fume, this  Japanese  ko,  and  it  seems  even  more  so, 
perhaps,  because  so  often  it  is  burned  in  the  open  air, 
or  in  house  or  temple  closed  only  by  openwork  screens. 
One  of  the  esthetic  delights  of  the  luxurious  u.sed  to 
be  an  incense  party — an  occasion  for  proving  the 
keenness  of  your  perceptions  by  distinguishing  among 
half  a dozen  or  so  of  these  subtle  perfumes,  as  we 
might  undertake  to  judge,  for  instance,  between 

187 


188 


JAPAN. 


Jockey  Club  and  millefleurs  and  all  the  other  varie- 
ties of  sachet,  except  that  the  composition  and  varia- 
tions of  ko  are  far  more  complex  and  evanescent. 
Invitations  to  such  an  occasion  were  sent  out  some 
time  ahead,  in  order  that  the  guests  might  prepare 
themselves,  by  avoiding  any  kind  of  strongly-scented 
food  for  days  beforehand.  The  party  took  the  form 
of  a game,  and  it  was  not  only  a question  of  di.s- 
crimination,  but  of  memory,  each  kind  being  smelled 
once,  and  then  each  person  given  a set  of  packages 
marked  with  a private  sign,  which  he  or  she  was  to 
burn  singly,  and  write  on  the  package  the  name 
guessed.  It  was  for  these  parties  that  many  of  the 
beautiful  bronze  or  porcelain  incense-burners  were 
made  that  are  the  delight  of  the  curio  collector. 
Kyoto  produced  these,  too,  in  almost  every  shape  and 
material.  The  typical  form  seems  to  be  of  Chinese 
origin ; it  has  three  straight  legs,  small  ear-like  han- 
dles, and  a Chinese  lion-monster  on  the  pierced  lid. 
It  is  ineen.se,  too,  that  gives  the  indefinable,  lingering 
odor  that  clings  to  old  silks  and  embroideries  in 
Japan,  hangings  or  vestments,  it  may  be,  steeped  as  it 
were  for  years  in  the  smoke  of  the  altar. 

Citv  of  temples  though  it  is,  Kyoto  has  none  now 
standing  that  can  compare  with  the  Tokugawa’s 
golden  palace,  or  with  the  elaborate  adornment  of 
Xikko.  But  there  are  many  very  noble  buildings, 
ricli  in  masterpieces  of  art ; three  especially  Avhich  go 
ti)  show,  among  other  things,  how  much  pcjwer  and 


KYOTO— THE  TEMPLES. 


189 


ma.ss  and  dignity  are  possible  to  a timber  architec- 
ture, without  so  much  as  a stone  foundation.  These 
three  are  the  Chion-in  monastery,  and  the  Higashi 
(Eastern)  and  Xishi  (Western)  Hongwanji. 

Of  the  three  the  Chion-in  has  all  the  advantage  to 
be  had  from  situation ; it  stands  on  a pine-covcred 
hillside,  not  far  from  the  Yaami  hotel,  approached  by 
an  avenue  of  cherry  trees  leading  up  to  the  great  two- 
story  entrance  gate,  which  is  red-lacquered,  carved 
and  decorated  from  end  to  end.  The  main  temple 
stands  on  a stone  terrace,  well  up  the  .slope  above  the 
gate,  reached  by  two  flights  of  those  wide  stone  steps 
Japanese  architects  understand  the  value  of  so  well. 
Close  by  in  a little  tower  is  a bell,  nine  feet  aero.ss 
and  nearly  eleven  feet  high,  one  of  the  three  great 
bells  of  Japan;  a second,  almost  the  same  size,  is  at 
the  Hailnitsu  temple  here  in  Kyoto ; and  a tliird, 
rather  smaller,  at  Kara.  Tliey  ring  it  by  smiting 
with  a Imge  swinging  beam — no  bell  in  Japan  ever 
has  a tongue — which  strikes  tlie  gilded  chrysanthe- 
mum on  its  li]i,  and  sends  a tide  of  sound  throbbing 
through  the  air  and  the  sky  and  the  ground  under 
foot — a dec]),  shuddering  boom  that  seems  to  roll 
from  every  quarter  of  the  compass,  and  dies  away 
after  long  moments  as  a wave  dies  on  the  sand.  It 
does  not  ring  often ; but  they  say  those  who  have 
once  heard  it  never  forget  the  sound  of  Chiou-in’s 
great  bell. 

The  temple  is  not,  like  Xikko,  a shrine  in  a grove, 


190 


JAPAN. 


but  a true  asseml)ly  hall,  part  of  the  large  monastery, 
and  planned  for  the  presence  of  a congregation,  as 
well  as  a considerable  body  of  officiating  priests. 
The  great,  curving,  black-tiled  roof  rests  on  dull-red 
poi'ches,  and  these  again  on  a tremendous  foundation 
of  interlacing  beams ; within,  the  spacious  hall  shuts 
itself  away  in  a warm  twilight,  through  which  a forest 
of  polished  golden-brown  pillars  rise  up  and  are  lost 
among  the  heavy  I’afters,  fifty  feet  above ; far  back 
the  altar  lamps  throw  a soft  glow  on  gold  and  bronze 
and  rich  embroidered  hangings,  the  only  ornaments 
in  the  hall,  except  those  on  the  lesser  shrines  on  either 
side.  Then  at  the  hour  of  service  come  the  priests, 
vested  in  silk,  crape,  brocade,  of  every  color  and 
every  conceivable  shade,  glowing,  blending,  Avavering 
tos:cther  as  the  chantino;  line  files  over  the  noisehss 
mats  and  spreads  and  settles  befoi'e  the  altar,  each  in 
his  place  at  his  roll  and  laccpicred  reading  stand. 
They  use  no  instrumental  music ; only  the  antiphonal 
chant,  and  from  time  to  time  a sIoav,  pausing  stroke 
on  drum  or  gong ; the  seated  figures  bow  and  rise, 
incense  dims  the  lamps  and  curls  into  the  dusky  roof ; 
little  groups  of  Avorshipers  sit  or  moA'e  to  and  fro 
behind  the  priests,  Avhile  beyond,  in  the  open  porches, 
SAvallows  dart  and  children  romp  and  chatter  unre- 
strained. 

Chion-in’s  greatest  art  treasure  is  not  the  image  of 
Amida  or  of  Kwannon,  nor  the  life-sized  figure  of 
INIonju,  Incarnation  of  Wisdom,  in  the  garb  of  a }>riest, 


KYOTO— THE  TEMPLES. 


191 


but  a set  of  sliding  screens  in  the  detached  apartments 
used  as  reception-rooms  for  the  Emperor  or  the  Prince 
High  Priest,  or  other  dignitaries.  The  apartments 
were  built  by  lemitsu,  the  third  Tokugawa  Shogun, 
and  artists  of  the  Kano  school  adorned  it — Kano 
Tanyu,  Xaonobu,  painter  of  the  Wet  Heron  at  the 
Xijo  palace,  Eitoku,  Xobunasa ; a noble  cpiartette, 
and  worthy  to  be  called  Kano.  Of  course,  they  were 
not  necessarily  lineal  descendants  of  the  first  great 
fifteenth  century  Kano  INIotonobu.  If  there  were  no 
.sou  of  sufficient  ability  to  carry  on  the  family  tradi- 
tion, according  to  Japanese  custom,  a relative  or  pupil 
might  be  adopted  into  sonship  and  bear  forward  the 
art  and  tlie  name.  A formal  tradition,  perhaps,  and 
a cramping  conventionalism ; but,  after  all,  the 
coin^entions  were  more  than  lialf  necessities  of 
material,  of  brush-mark  in  uneliangeable  ink  on  a 
smooth  surface ; and  within  these  limits,  self-imposed 
or  not,  there  is  all  the  breadth  and  freshness  of  a 
Pompeiian  fresco,  all  the  marvelous  sureness  of  touch 
that  only  a brush-trained  hand  can  know.  Rein  was 
one  of  tlie  first  authors  to  draw  attention  to  the  effect 
of  writing  on  Japanese  painting ; Chamberlain  alludes 
to  it;  Gonse  grows  eloquent  over  the  contrast  between 
the  pen,  most  rigid  of  instruments,  and  the  brush, 
ino.st  supple  and  delicate ; over  the  position,  too,  hand 
in  air,  fist  closed  and  wrist  bent,  bringing  the  point 
of  the  brush  vertically  to  the  paper.  “ Thence  comes 
that  astounding  pliancy  of  the  stroke,  those  broaden- 


192 


JAPAN. 


ings  and  attenuations,  those  bru.sque  turns,  which  are 
the  delight  of  a Japanese  eye,”  says  Gonse — qualities 
all  here,  in  Xaonobu’s  crows  and  pine,  plum  and 
bamboo,  the  summer  landscapes  and  snow  scenes,  or 
the  sparrow  which,  they  say,  flew  through  to  the  other 
side  of  the  paper,  and  the  pine  trees  that  dropped 
resin  from  their  painted  trunks. 

Not  le.ss  valuable  Kano  paintings  are  in  the  State 
apartments  of  the  Xishi  Hongwanji,  which  is  likewise 
a great  monastery,  and  one  of  the  richest  and  most 
influential.  The  main  hall  is  a little  smaller  than 
Chion-in,  but  not  less  massive  and  noble,  the  plain 
Avhite-])lastered  walls  and  keyald  ])illars  of  the  nave 
contrasting  effectively  with  the  gilded  chancel  and  its 
ornate  flanking  chamber.®;,  the  gold  of  the  front,  the 
])ainted  doors  and  screens,  and  the  rich  openwork 
ramma  above  them.  The  light  is  dim.  as  always  in 
these  halls,  and  scarcely  shows  the  delicate  carvings 
of  the  altar  and  the  shrine  upon  it,  which  holds  a 
wooden  image  of  the  foundei’,  Shinran.  “Faith,  not 
works,”  was  the  special  doctrine  of  this  thirteenth 
centurv  saint,  based  on  Amida’s  vow,  “ that  he  would 
not  accept  Buddhahood  unless  salvation  should  be 
made  attainable  for  all  who  should  sincerely  desire  to 
be  born  into  his  kingdom.”  Shinran’s  was  an  offshoot 
of  the  Jodo  sect,  to  which  Chion-in  belongs,  and  it 
split  again  in  leyasu’s  time  into  the  We.^tern  (Xishi) 
and  Eastern  (Higashi)  Hongwanji — that  is  to  say, 
IMouastery  of  the  True  A"ow. 


KYOTO— THE  TEMPLES. 


193 


Amida’s  shrine  is  in  the  smaller  hall,  Amida-do;  the 
gilt-wood  statuette  behind  the  gilded  columns  is  black 
with  age.  The  hall  is  arranged  like  the  other,  with  a 
plain  nave  and  a highly  decorated  chamber  on  either 
side  of  the  chancel ; the  ramma  over  the  screens  are 
peonies,  and  above  them  are  angels,  carved  in  high 
relief — a somewhat  unusual  feature.  On  a sliding 
screen  near  the  chancel,  a beautiful  peacock  and  pea- 
hen stand  on  a white  blossoming  peach  tree,  against  a 
gold  background,  the  work  of  a Kano  ; and  on  the 
way  to  the  state  apartments  are  more  panels  by  Kano 
Eitoku,  grandson  of  iNIotonobu.  The  apartments 
themselves  are  resplendent  with  gold,  with  ramma 
carved  by  Jingoro,  with  wild  geese  on  dull  gold  back- 
grounds— fragments,  many  of  these,  of  Hideyoshi’s 
renowned  palace  at  Fushimi,  the  same  that  furnished 
the  Nijo  palace  gate. 

The  hall  of  the  Higashi  Hongwanji  is  the  largest 
of  these  three  temple.s — indeed,  the  largest  in  Japan ; 
and  it  is  absolutely  new,  finished  only  in  1889,  to 
replace  one  burned  in  1864.  The  Jceyaki  wood  jiillars 
and  rafters  are  fresh,  instead  of  time-browned ; the 
carvings  less  ma.sterly  than  Jingoro’s;  otherwise,  none 
but  an  expert  would  guess  that  it  differed  from  six- 
teenth century  originals.  There  are  the  .same  mighty 
beams  .supporting  the  tiled  roof,  the  same  dim  interior, 
the  wooden  pillars  four  and  five  feet  thick,  the  glow- 
ing altar,  chanting  priests,  and  to  and  fro  of  humble 
worshipers.  The  Higashi  Hongwanji  is  of  all  things 
VoL.  II.— 13 


194 


JAPAN. 


a popular  temple.  It  was  built  by  offerings  from  all 
over  the  country,  contributions  of  material  as  well  as 
money,  and,  among  the  rest,  great  ropes  of  hair,  from 
glossy  black  to  thin,  pathetic  strands  of  gray,  the  gift 
of  women  who  had  nothing  else  to  give. 

One  thinks  of  these  three  temples  together,  because 
they  are  alike  in  all  essentials — alike  as  three  Roman 
basilicas  might  be.  Kiyomidzu-dera,  not  less  famoirs, 
is  a com])lete  contrast  to  their  rather  formal,  stately 
elegance;  its  floor  is  bare,  the  rough-hewn  pillars  set 
in  bronze  sockets,  the  exterior  much  weather-beaten, 
yet  unusuallv  picturesque  and  striking.  A long,  steep 
street  climbs  to  it  between  rows  of  china-shops — Tea- 
pot Hill,  IMiss  Scidinore  calls  it — where  they  .sell, 
besides  teapots,  immense  numbers  of  grotesque  little 
pottery  ningyo,  “Fushimi  dolls,”  some  comic,  some 
rather  frightful.  At  festival  times  the  street  is 
crowded  with  a lively  throng,  but  at  other  times 
almost  deserted,  except  for  the  ever-present  children. 

Reaching  the  court  and  terrace  of  Kiyomidzu,  you 
are  among  trees  and  tea-booths,  the  main  temple  and 
a group  of  minor  shrines  dropped,  as  it  were,  casually 
here  and  there ; at  the  back  the  hill  falls  suddenly 
into  a little  ravine,  and  on  the  farther  side  a .second 
tenq)le  perches,  like*  a swallow’s  nest,  above  a gulf  of 
swaying  foliage.  The  main  ti*mple  was  founded  in 
Ashikaga  times — .say  about  the  middle  of  the  four- 
teenth century  ; the  interior  is  a strange,  dim  confu- 
sion of  .shai)cs,  figures  of  the  Twenty-eight  Compan- 


KYOTO— THE  TEMPLES. 


195 


ions  of  Kwannon  ranged  about  her  closed  shrine, 
which  holds  an  image  so  sacred  that  it  is  only  opened 
once  in  thirty-three  years.  Beside  these,  there  are 
two  of  the  Heav’enly  Kings,  guardians  of  the  four 
(juarters ; Bishamou,  god  of  good  fortune  in  war,  and 
Jizo,  friend  of  little  children,  helper  of  all  who  are  in 
trouble.  Half  the  space  in  front  is  filled  by  a high 
scaffolding,  which  sujiports  a dancing  stage  and  side- 
})latforrns  for  the  musician.s,  fronting  a long  hall  filled 
with  strange  votive  pictures;  the  whole  effect  has 
something  almo.st  uncanny  about  it,  due  perhaps  to 
tlie  broken  spaces,  so  unusual  in  a Japanese  temple, 
and  the  crowding  of  images  and  symbols,  lamps, 
vases,  incense  burners  and  swinging  banners,  all  jum- 
bled together  in  tlie  flickering  light.  It  is  pleasant  to 
come  out  again  to  the  trees  and  the  sound  of  running 
water,  coming  from  the  little  cascade  in  the  gorge, 
flowing  from  five  miraculous  springs,  where  women 
come  to  drink.  Be.side  the.se  springs,  tradition  say.s, 
the  founder  saint  waited  years  for  help  to  fulfill  Kwan- 
noil’s  command,  received  in  a vision,  to  carve  his 
image  out  of  a mighty  log,  which  lay  by  the  stream. 
The  wood  should  have  been  well  seasoned,  and  surely 
the  .saint’s  character  no  less. 

Older  still,  and  even  more  crowded  with  strange 
images,  is  the  San-jiu-san-gen-do,  the  temple  of  the 
Thirty-three  Thou.'^and  Statues  of  Kwannon  the  Com- 
passionate, the  Eleven-faced  and  Thousand-handed. 
The  hall  is  filled  with  them,  row  after  row,  stretching 


196 


JAPAN. 


out  innumerable  hands,  holding  each  an  emblem — a 
lotus,  an  ox,  a cord,  a diamond,  the  AVheel  of  the 
Law,  or  an  open  palm,  to  succor  all  who  need.  Each 
head  is  crowned  with  a sort  of  tiara  of  little  faces ; a 
pair  of  hands  fold  on  the  breast,  a pair  are  lifted,  as 
if  in  blessing ; others  hold  little  images  of  the  god, 
which  must  be  numbered  in  to  make  up  the  full  count 
of  33,333.  In  the  midst  sits  a large  figure  of  the 
Compassionate  One,  and  around  this  stand  the  Twenty- 
eight  Companions  — mystic  per.sonifications  of  the 
stars.  In  the  gilded  confusion  it  would  not  be  hard 
to  persuade  oneself  that  arms  waved,  glittering  heads 
might  turn  or  bow,  eyes  look  down  kindly  or  threaC 
eningly  from  the  strange  throng. 

Close  by,  in  a rickety,  dusty  building,  is  the  Dai- 
butsu,  a gilt- wood  image  dating  fi'om  1801,  and  testi- 
fying much  more  to  the  piety  than  the  taste  of  the 
age.  There  would  seem  to  be  some  ill-luck  about 
placing  a great  image  at  this  spot ; first,  Hideyoshi 
built  a temple,  but  died  before  it  Avas  complete;  his 
widow  ordered  a bronze  figure  made,  but  in  the  final 
casting  it  set  fire  to  the  frame-work  and  destroyed 
tem{)le  and  image  together.  Then  lhat  clever  person, 
Tokugawa  leyasu,  put  it  into  the  widow’s  mind  to  try 
again  on  a greater  scale,  that  she  and  her  son  might 
weaken  themselves  by  a ruinous  outlay  ; all  of  which 
was  accomplished,  including  a disastrous  riot  over  a 
delay  in  the  consecration — this,  too,  provoked  by  the 
wily  old  Tokugawa,  who  pretended  to  be  insulted  by 


KYOTO— THE  TEMPLES. 


197 


an  ideograpli  In  the  inscription,  and  ordered  the  rites  to 
be  stopped  in  the  midst.  Fifty  years  later  temple 
and  image  were  again  destroyed,  this  time  by  an 
earthquake.  A wooden  figure  replaced  the  bronze, 
and  was  struck  by  lightning  ; a second  one  met  with 
the  same  kite.  The  present  figure  has  stood  the  cen- 
tury, and  perhaps  broken  the  spell ; it  is  certainly 
unlovely  enough  to  escape  the  envy  of  the  gods.  The 
thing  is  fifty  feet  of  head  and  shoulders,  without  a 
body — colo.ssal,  lumpish,  not  spirited  enough  to  be 
even  grote.sque.  The  best  one  can  say  i.s,  that  it  is 
thoroughly  in  keeping  with  its  tawdry  surroundiugs, 
with  the  du.st  and  the  bare  planking,  and  the  worth- 
le.ss  ex-voto  ])ictures  on  the  wall.  The  great,  calm 
Jhiddha  of  Kamakura  is  not  to  be  thought  of  with 
tills  wretched  travesty. 

All  these  are  Buddhist  templc.s,  and  .so,  too,  is  Kori- 
nji — interesting  for  a curious  collection  of  wooden 
statues,  many  of  them  Korean,  or  made  under  Korean 
influences  in  the  early  centuries  of  Japanese  art. 
Another  collection  of  statues  is  at  Toji-in — these  not 
gods  or  saints,  but  portrait  effigies  of  Ashikagii  Sho- 
guns, in  gorgeous  court  robes.  There  are  fine  screens 
and  kakemono  here,  too,  by  Kano  Tanyu  and  his 
fellow  arti.sts;  and  again  at  Daito-kuji,  Tanyu’s 
famous  Man  with  a Dancing  Monkey,  peacocks  by 
Okiyo,  and  a roomful  of  peojile  working  at  various 
trades,  by  Kano  Tanshiu ; and  here,  too,  a collection 
of  kakemono,  said  to  be  the  finest  in  Japan,  hidden 


198 


JAPAN. 


away  in  fireproof  storehouses  and  never  visible.  The 
Daito-knji  is  a fine  building,  and  its  carved  gate  is 
one  of  the  wonders  of  Kyoto.  A portrait  bust  of 
Ota  Nobunaga  gives  a certain  personal  interest  to  the 
rather  faded  magnificence  of  the  place. 

At  yet  another  monastery,  Ko-daiji,  there  are  relics 
of  Hideyoshi,  Monkey  ” Hideyoshi,  who  began  life 
as  Nobunaga’s  groom  and  ended  it  Taiko  Sama,  high 
lord  and  Regent  of  Japan,  would-be  conqueror  of 
Korea.  To  him  is  due  the  ‘‘Ear  Mound”  on  the 
other  side  of  the  city,  where  they  buried  the  ghastly 
trophies  of  that  Korean  campaign.  Hideyoshi's  effigy 
sits  in  the  chapel,  in  full  robes  and  wearing  a tall  hat 
given  by  the  Emperor  of  China  as  a token  of  rank  ; 
his  wife  is  near  by,  dressed  as  a Buddhist  nun.  In 
the  chapel  there  is  much  lacquer  and  gold  and  gor- 
geous trappings,  and  masterpieces  of  painting  by  the 
Kano,  much  of  it  ornament  taken  from  Hideyoshi’s 
palace  and  from  his  war-ship  and  his  wife’s  sedan 
chair. 

The  Korean  affair  seems  to  have  been  pure  Na])o- 
leonic  ambition.  There  was  no  particular  reason  for 
the  attack,  though  it  is  true  there  were  plenty  of 
standing  grievances,  such  as  failiu’e  to  pay  tribute  for 
a century  or  two,  and  the  fact  that  the  Koreans  sided 
with  the  INIongols  in  any  conflict  of  pirates,  as  well  as 
in  the  great  invasion  of  Kublai  Khan.  But  the  real 
cause  was  that  Hideyoshi,  having  subdued  all  Japan 
and  attained  the  highest  post  possible  for  him  to  hold. 


KYOTO— THE  TEMPLES. 


199 


desired  new  worlds ; and  he  even  conceived  the  idea 
of  conquering  Cliina  itself.  The  first  stop  was  an 
invitation  to  the  King  of  Korea  to  visit  Japan  and 
have  an  audience  with  the  Emperor,  which,  of  course, 
meant  to  make  submission  to  him.  This  was  followed 
bv  a demand  for  gifts  both  from  China  and  Korea ; 
the  Koreans,  as  Chine.se  tributaries,  were  ordered  to 
inform  China  and  convey  her  gifts;  directions  which 
Korea  not  unnaturally  declined  to  comply  with. 

Hideyoshi  then  j)rocceded  with  the  invasion.  lie 
had  been  already  building  ves.sels,  and  when  the  army 
sailed  “ the  ships  were  so  many  they  secmt'd  to  cover 
the  sea.”  There  were  said  to  be  one  hundred  and 
thirtv  thousand  men  under  the  generals  Kato  Kiyo- 
masa  and  Koni.shi,  and  they  divided  into  two  .sections, 
overrunning  ditferent  parts  of  the  country.  The  sud- 
denness of  their  attack  at  first  swept  everything  before 
them;  Korean  generals  were  captured,  the  King  fled, 
and  the  capital  fell  into  Kiyoma.sa’s  hands.  In  the 
meantime  the  Koreans  .sent  urgent  mes.sages  to  China 
asking  for  help,  and  an  army  was  sent,  and  defeated 
by  the  Japane.se ; a second  detachment  made  better 
resistance,  and  when  pestilence  began  to  reinforce 
them,  Hideyoshi  was  willing  to  make  peace. 

H is  demands  were  not  modest.  A Chinese  princess 
was  to  be  given  him  for  a wife;  the  Crown  Prince  of 
Korea  and  several  nobles  were  to  be  sent  as  ho.stages ; 
half  of  Korea  should  belong  to  Japan,  and  there  were 
to  be  treaties  of  commerce  with  both  China  and  Korea. 


200 


JAPAN. 


The  envoys  refused  the  princess  and  the  partition  of 
Korea ; and  Hideyoshi  prepared  for  another  invasion. 
Meantime  the  envoy  returned  to  China  and  suggested 
to  his  Emperor  that  Hideyoshi  would  probably  be 
satisfied  with  a title  and  seal  and  an  official  hat ; and 
he  was  sent  back  to  Japan  therewith.  Hideyoshi 
received  the  euvoy  in  great  state  at  his  palace  at 
Fushiiui,  in  the  outskirts  of  Kyoto;  but  when  the 
document  was  read  conferring  on  him  the  title  of 
“ King  of  Japan,”  he  flew  into  a great  rage,  flung  the 
hat  and  the  papers  on  the  floor,  and  said  he  would  be 
King  of  China  and  no  tributary  of  hers. 

Another  invasion  of  Korea  followed,  and  this  time 
a large  Chinese  force  besieged  Kato  Kiyomasa  in  a 
Korean  stronghold,  where  his  army  suffered  much 
from  cold  and  lack  of  food.  Two  Japanese  generals 
marched  to  their  relief,  and  were  again  victorious, 
when  news  came  that  Hideyoshi  had  died,  and  left 
orders  for  the  return  of  the  army.  It  was  withdrawn, 
and  shortly  after  Korea  sent  gifts  and  envoys,  who 
concluded  peace. 

Kurodani  is  a large  and  fine  monastery  on  a hill  a 
little  way  out  of  the  city ; it  was  the  first  foundation 
of  the  Jodo  sect,  the  place  where  Honen,  the  first 
teacher  of  the  doctrine,  retired  when  he  left  the  great 
Tendai  monastery  on  Hiezan.  The  architecture  and 
decoration  is  full  of  dignity  and  reserve,  and  the  apart- 
ments are  unusually  rich  in  paintings  and  carvings, 
and  there  is  a very  splendid  altar  in  the  main  temple. 


KYOTO-TIIE  TEMPLES. 


201 


The  great  renown  of  the  place,  however,  comes  from 
the  hero  Kumagai,  who  liere  put  off  his  armor  and 
exchanged  sword  for  rosary,  and  pra}'ed  and  sorrowed 
all  his  life  for  Atsumori,  the  fair  young  knight  whom 
he  unwillingly  slew. 

It  is  a pathetic  story.  Kumagai  was  a famous 
warrior  who  fought  on  the  Minamoto  side  in  the  great 
struggle  between  the  two  clans ; in  one  of  the  fierce-st 
battles  he  met  in  single  combat — as  the  custom  then 
was — a knight  of  the  Taira,  whom  he  grapjilcd  and 
bore  to  the  ground.  “ The  etiquette  of  war  required 
that  on  such  occasions  no  blood  should  be  shod  uidess 
the  weaker  party  proved  to  be  a man  of  rank  or 
ability  equal  to  that  of  the  stronger.”  Kumagai 
would  have  the  name  of  his  foe ; the  other  would  not 
answer,  and  the  grim  knight  snatched  off  the  helmet, 
revealing  the  smooth,  fair  face  of  a lad  only  just  grown, 
just  the  age  of  Kumagai’s  own  young  son,  who  that 
day  fought  in  battle  for  the  first  time.  “ IIclj)ing  the 
youth  to  his  feet,  in  paternal  tones  he  bade  the  .strip- 
ling go.  ‘ Off,  young  prince,  to  thy  mother’s  side  ! 
The  sword  of  Kumagai  shall  never  be  tarnished  by  a 
drop  of  thy  blood  !’  The  young  warrior  refused  to  go, 
and  begged  Kumagai  for  the  honor  of  both  to  despatch 
him  on  the  spot.”  The  knight,  who  had  never  trem- 
bled, hesitated  now.  Again  he  besought  the  boy  to 
fly,  but  hearing  his  companions  coming  up,  he  ex- 
claimed, “ If  thou  art  overtaken,  ])erchance  thou  mayest 
fall  by  a more  ignoble  hand  than  mine.  O,  thou  In- 


202 


JAPAN. 


finite,  receive  his  soul  ! ” The  sword  fell,  but  after 
that  day  Kumagai  never  fouglit  again.  He  retired  to 
Kurodani  and  hung  his  armor  on  a pine  tree  in  the 
court-yard,  shaved  his  head,  and  took  monastic  vows, 
and  “ devotes  tlie  rest  of  his  days  to  holy  pilgrimage, 
never  turning  his  back  to  the  we.st,  where  lies  the 
paradise,  whence  salvation  comes  and  whither  the  suu 
hastes  daily  for  his  rest.” 

“ Critics  may  point  out  flaws  in  this  story,”  con- 
tinues Dr.  Nitobe.  ‘‘It  is  casuistically  vulnerable. 
Let  it  be;  all  the  same  it  shows  that  tenderness,  j)ity 
and  love  were  traits  which  adorned  the  most  sangui- 
nary exploits  of  a Samurai.”  ' 

This  is  by  no  means  tlie  end  of  the  temples,  even 
of  the  famous  ones ; indeed,  Kyoto  reminds  one  of 
Cologne,  in  Heine’s  poem  : 

“ Koein,  die  viele  hundert 
Kapelen  und  Kirchen  hat.’’ 

Gion,  the  mo.st  popular,  has  a curiomsly  tumble- 
down  air;  the  Higashi  Otani  po.s.sesses  a wonderful 
gate  carved  by  Hidari  Jingoro,  and  an  exquisite  little 
chapel  all  in  gold ; and  there  are  at  least  a dozen 
others,  none  without  some  point  of  interest,  divided 
among  as  many  .sects  and  sections  of  sects,  Zen,  Jodo, 
Nichiren  and  the  rest,  differing  among  themselves 
much  as  denominations  differ  in  Protestant  Christen- 
dom, and  appealing  some  to  the  philosophic,  some  to 

1 Nitobe:  “Bushido,  the  Soul  of  Japan.’’ 


KYOTO— THE  TEMPLES.  203 

the  popular  mind,  for  Buddhism  well  knew  how  to  be 
all  thiugs  to  all  men. 

Tliere  are  Shinto  temples,  too,  not  so  many  as  Bud- 
dhist, nor  of  course  so  magnificent,  but  much  fre- 
quented of  the  common  people.  Xot  only  Kyoto  folk, 
but  pilgrims  from  all  over  the  country  flock  to  visit 
the  Inari  Sama,  on  the  road  to  Fushimi,  which  is  said 
to  be  the  most  popular  shrine  of  that  most  popular 
deity.  Probably  the  old  nature-gods  have  kept  most 
of  tlieir  original  character,  however  overlaid  with 
later  symbols,  and  the  universal  fox  worship  would 
seem  to  have  scarcely  changed  at  all. 

The  legend  goes  that  Inari  Sama,  (lodde-'^s  of  Rice, 
here  manifested  herself  to  Saint  Kobo  Daishi  as  a 
little  old  man  carrying  a sheaf,  and  .she  is  frequentlv 
worshiped  under  that  form  ; but  to  the  common  people 
Inari  is  actually  the  fox-god,  the  true  ])rimitive  animal 
deity,  crafty  and  uncertain  of  temper,  delighting  in 
mischief,  yet  on  the  whole  well  disposed  toward  the 
well-tloing  and  siding  with  justice  and  fair  i)lay. 
Tlierefine,  the  many  fox  holes  are  undisturbed  among 
the  “sacred  boulders”  on  the  hill  behind  the  temple; 
and  at  the  door  of  every  Inari  shrine  throughout  the 
land  sit  a {lair  of  stone  foxes,  rigid,  sharp-nosed 
beasts,  their  tails  curled  .stiffly  over  their  backs;  baldly 
formal  figures,  yet  at  the  same  time  liviugly,  intensely 
alert.  This  pair  are  huge  ones,  standing  by  the  great 
gate  at  the  end  of  a long  flight  of  step.s,  Avhich  leads 
up  from  the  red  entrance  torii.  Most  of  the  walls  and 


204 


JAPAN. 


pillars  here  are  red,  and  the  strangest  feature  of  all  is 
a double  row  of  small  red  torii,  two  hundred  on  each 
side,  crowded  close  together  like  a double  colonnade, 
which  leads  up  to  a pilgrimage  way,  winding  in  and 
out  up  the  hill  among  the  shrines  and  boulders  and 
fox  holes.  The  slope  is  famoas  for  fine  mu.shrooms, 
and  here  in  the  gay  INIiddle  Ages  the  Court  used  to 
come  mushroom  gathering,  just  as  the  gentles  of 
Queen  Elizabeth’s  day  went  a-Maying  in  the  spring. 

The  Ainu  have  a legend  of  the  origin  of  fox-worship, 
which  may  have  a Japanese  folk-story  behind  it,  though 
it  sounds  like  their  usual  style  of  accounting  for  facts 
by  making  uj)  something  to  fit.  They  say  that  a man 
was  once  near  a fox  hole,  when  he  saw  a fox  come  up 
and  call  to  the  one  within,  “Come  Avith  me  to-morrow 
and  I will  show  yon  a splendid  way  for  us  to  get  many 
good  things.”  “How  is  that?”  asked  the  second. 
“ This,”  said  the  first.  “ I will  turn  into  a man,  and 
do  you  turn  into  a horse,  and  I will  ride  you  to  the 
next  village  and  sell  you  to  some  one  for  plenty  of  good 
things.  Then  afterwards  I Avill  come  and  let  you 
loose,  and  we  can  run  away.”  “All  right,”  said  the 
other  fox.  “ Come  for  me  to-morrow  about  noon.”  So 
tlie  first  fox  ran  away. 

The  next  morning,  a little  before  noon,  the  man  came 
to  the  hole,  and  imitating  the  voice  of  the  fox  said, 
“Come  out  quickly;  I have  changed  into  a man,  .so 
do  you  become  a horse  as  we  agreed.”  At  this  the 
fox  came  out  of  his  hole,  and  turned  into  a very  fine 


KYOTO— THE  TEMPLES. 


205 


diestnut-colored  horse,  with  a fine,  long  tail ; and  the 
man  rode  him  to  the  village  ; and  because  he  was  such 
a very  fine  horse,  everybody  wanted  to  buy,  and  the 
man  got  a great  price  for  him,  and  bought  many  fine 
things,  and  went  away. 

But  the  man  who  had  bought  the  hor.se  did  not  put 
him  out  in  the  field,  because  he  was  such  a fine  horse; 
he  shut  him  up  in  the  house,  and  fastened  the  window, 
and  tied  him  with  a strong  rope.  Then  he  brought 
plenty  of  grass  for  him  to  eat ; but  the  fox,  not  being 
a real  lior.se,  could  not  eat  it  at  all ; he  wanted  fish  and 
good  things  such  as  foxes  eat,  and  he  was  almost 
starved.  But  after  several  days,  he  took  a chance 
when  no  one  was  looking,  and  got  away.  Then  he 
ran  to  his  friend,  and  reproached  him  for  not  coming 
to  help  him ; and  so  they  found  out  that  it  was  the 
mail  who  had  played  the  trick,  and  they  determined  to 
go  together  and  kill  him. 

But  the  man,  when  he  saw  them  coming,  bowed  very 
humbly,  and  said,  “ It  is  true  I have  done  very  wrong, 
and  you  ought  to  kill  me;  but  if  you  do  that  it  will  do 
you  no  good,  whereas  if  you  let  me  go  I will  promise 
to  worship  you  from  this  time  forth  ; and  when  I take 
fish,  I will  offer  some  to  you  ; and  I will  give  you 
millet  cakes,  and  part  of  all  that  I have.”  Then  the 
foxes  accepted  his  offer  and  let  him  go,  and  that  is  why 
men  worship  foxes  even  until  now. 

Just  one  more  fox  legend,  which  belongs  to  Kyoto. 
In  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Konoye,  a fox  took  the 


206 


JAPAN. 


form  of  a beautiful  lady  and  became  an  inhabitant  of 
tlie  palace.  Her  real  character  was  discovered  by 
means  of  a magical  mirror,  and  she  fled  to  the  moun- 
tains in  her  true  shape.  Two  valiant  knights  were 
sent  to  hunt  and  destroy  her ; but  they  could  not  suc- 
ceed till,  after  j)rayiug  to  the  gods,  one  of  them  dreamed 
that  the  only  way  to  catch  the  fox  was  to  get  a helmet, 
a suit  of  armor,  and  a bridle,  made  by  a certain  famous 
swordsmithof  a neighboring  province.  This  was  done, 
and  the  fox  was  caught  and  killed.  The  Emperor  was 
so  delighted  with  the  beauty  of  the  smith’s  work  that 
he  gave  him  the  title  “best  and  unequaled.”  This 
armorer  was  one  of  the  early  members  of  the  Mioehin 
family,  who  were  Court  armorers  for  six  hmidred  years. 

It  was  out  this  way,  near  the  village  of  Fushimi, 
that  the  Satsuma  and  Choshu  and  the  Tokugawa  par- 
tisans had  the  first  battle  of  the  War  of  the  Restora- 
tion. Prince  Tokugawa  had  been  summoned  by  the 
Emperor  to  come  to  Kyoto,  and  was  marching  up  from 
Osaka  with  a large  following,  when  he  heard  that  some 
of  the  Satsuma  men  had  attacked  his  followers  in 
Yedo,  and  that  there  had  been  a sharp  fight,  which 
ended  in  the  Satsuma  men  being  driven  from  their 
lord’s  yashiki,  at  Shinagawa,  to  a warship  in  the  bay. 
Enraged  at  this  insult,  the  Tokugawa  ordered  his  fol- 
lowers and  the  Aidzu  men  to  attixek  Choshu  and  Sat- 
suma at  F usliimi ; there  was  a bloody  battle,  and 
Prince  Tokugawa  was  defeated  and  fled  to  Osaka,  where 
he  fired  the  castle  and  escaped  on  a ship  to  Yedo. 


KYOTO— THE  TEMPLES. 


207 


lu  this  battle  General  Saigo  commanded  the  Impe- 
rialist forces,  and  his  coolness  saved  the  day  for  them. 
In  the  early  pai’t  of  the  fight,  a messenger  came  to 
him  where  he  waited  with  pax’t  of  the  army,  and  asked 
for  a reinforcement.  “ I will  send  one,”  said  Saigo, 
“ when  every  one  of  yon  is  dead  on  the  field.”  The 
messenger  I’cturned,  and  the  Tokngawa  were  driven 
back. 

Almost  as  popular  as  Inari  is  the  temple  of  Tenjin 
Sama,  nearer  the  city,  whose  simple  massive  stone  torii 
looks  strangely  out  of  place  before  the  confusion  of 
objects  that  crowd  the  enclosure  — stone  lanterns, 
swinging  lanterns,  grinning  monsters,  bulls,  stone  or 
bronze,  gaudy  carved  and  painted  gateways,  tea-sheds 
spread  with  coarse  red  blankets,  ex-votos,  and  woven 
])icturcs  after  the  new  manner  of  the  Kyoto  looms, 
which  produce  .so  much  they  had  better  not.  The 
cheap  accumulation  is  mo.st  unworthy  of  the  hero  deity, 
who  in  life  was  Sugiwara  INIichizane,  the  great  prime 
minister,  who  was  honored  after  death  by  his  too  late 
repentant  master.  1 1 is  caligraphy  being  as  famous  as 
his  wisdom  and  devotion,  he  is  the  patron  saint  of 
school-b()V.s,  who  offer  to  him  their  worn-out  writino- 
bru.dies — perhaps  as  a proof  of  diligence. 

Not  far  away  from  the  Tenjin  shrine  is  a modern 
temple  of  Pure  Shinto,  made  charming  in  spring  by 
a gjirden  of  lovely  cherry  trec.s,  which  seem  highly 
appropriate  to  this  somewhat  archaistic  piece  of  Early 
T amato.  There  is  a modern  Shinto  shrine  to  Nol)u- 


208 


JAPAN. 


naga,  too,  near  the  Buddhist  Daitokuji,  which  holds 
his  portrait  bust. 

An  interesting  bit  of  history  belonging  to  the 
modern  era  is  at  the  temple  called  Shirao-Gamo. 
This  is  a long  panel  picture  of  the  last  Emperor, 
Komei,  and  his  train,  coming  to  worship  at  this, 
which  is  one  of  the  oldest  Shinto  shrines.  The 
remarkable  thing  about  it  is  that  it  was  the  first 
imperial  expedition  outside  the  palace  walls  in  many 
a year,  since  the  Tokugawa  Shoguns  succeeded  in 
making  hard  and  fast  the  rule  of  absolute  sacred 
seclusion.  The  heavens  did  not  fall,  nor  were  the 
people  rendered  disloyal  by  the  act ; and  this  effort 
of  Komei  Tenno’s  probably  made  the  present 
Emperor’s  innovations  less  diffieult.  Shimo-Gamo 
is  a pretty  place — a group  of  little  buildings,  hardly 
more  than  sheds,  in  a grove  of  beautiful  cryptomcria 
and  maple  and  evergreen  oak.  An  avenue  of  pines 
loads  from  it  by  the  Kamogawa  (“Wild-duck  river”) 
to  Kami-Gamo,  another  rather  ruinous  shrine  of  the 
same  goddess-maiden,  who  wedded  an  arrow  winged 
with  wild-duck  featliers,  and  afterward  flew  away  to 
lieaven  with  her  son  in  a claj)  of  tliunder. 

Thougli  Kyoto  people  have  a Parisian  reputation 
for  frugalities,  jidites  economies — learned,  })oor  things, 
in  the  days  when  the  Yedo  had  all  the  revenues,  the 
Court  and  Kuge  almost  none — in  spite  of  this  frugal 
mind,  they  are  often  enough  on  pleasure  bent,  and 
have  plenty  of  famous  spots  for  flower-viewing  and 


KYOTO— THE  TEMPLES. 


209 


verse-making.  Besides  the  many  places  outside,  on 
the  Katsura  river  and  lake  Biwa  and  the  hills,  there 
is  the  bed  of  the  Kamogawa,  in  the  heart  of  the  city 
itself,  which,  after  all,  is  the  most  popular  and  char- 
acteristic playground  of  Kyoto.  The  Kamogawa, 
like  all  Japanese  rivers,  has  an  unconscionably  wide 
bed,  which  it  seldom  occupies  more  than  a fraction  of, 
an  expanse  of  pebbles,  little  and  big,  which  has  been 
used  as  a bleaching  ground  since  the  city  began. 
Here  in  summer  time  hundreds  of  booths  are  set  up 
on  piles,  sometimes  quite  out  over  the  water,  and  here 
of  an  evening  the  citizens  come  to  sit  on  the  mats  and 
drink  tea  or  mild  potations  of  sake,  and  enjoy  the 
cool  air  and  the  liglits  twinkling^  in  the  river.  Some- 
times  all  the  family  come,  from  Oji  San  (grandpaj)a) 
to  the  baby  on  somebody’s  back,  and  perhaps  rela- 
tives or  friends  meet  there,  too.  The  ladies  group 
together  and  discuss  the  children  and  the  household, 
and  the  latest  bit  of  gossip  ; the  men  talk  business  or 
politics,  or  maybe  wax  poetic  and  intone  a Chinese 
couplet  or  Yamato  tanka  to  O Tsuki  Sama,  my  I^ady 
Moon,  rising  over  the  mountains ; while  from  other 
booths  comes  the  tinkle  of  the  samisen  and  bursts  of 
laughter  at  the  poor  little  geisha’s  latest  sally. 
Hearn,  in  his  “ Kokoro,”  tells  a sad  little  story  of  the 
Street  of  the  Geisha,  which  lets  one  nearer  than  any- 
thing thus  far  written  to  the  inner  life  of  these 
hard-working  butterflies.  Not  that  many  of  them  are 
like  Kimiko  ; she  is  an  ideal,  though  by  no  means  an 
VoL.  II. — 14 


210 


JAPAN. 


impossible  one.  Sacrifice,  in  some  form  or  other — 
that  is  the  watchword  of  a Japanese  woman’s  life. 

It  was  on  the  Go-jo  (Fifth  Street)  bridge  that 
Yoshitsune  first  met  the  giant  Benkei,  sometime  monk 
of  the  convent  on  lake  Biwa.  Benkei  had  made  a 
vow  to  take  a hundreil  trophies  in  single  combat ; he 
needed  but  one,  when  he  encountered  the  stripling 
Minamoto  and  proposed  to  make  short  work  of  him. 
But  Yoshitsune,  trained  by  the  mountiiin  Tengu, 
leaped  and  danced  around  Benkei  till  with  a shrewd 
blow  he  brought  the  giant  to  his  knees.  Like 
Little  John,  when  vanquished  by  Robin  Hood, 
Benkei  at  once  took  service  with  Yoshitsune,  and 
irom  that  moment  never  left  him  till  they  died 
together. 

There  are  tlu’ee  great  festivals  in  Kyoto,  besides 
lesser  monthly  matsuri ; they  are  the  Inari  in  early 
April,  the  Gion  in  June,  and  Bon,  the  Feast  of  the 
Dead,  in  the  middle  of  July.  Nearly  all  April  the 
city  is  more  or  less  en  fete,  for  the  Inari  deities  have 
their  celebration  first,  then  make  a visit  to  the  divini- 
ties at  Ise,  and  return  in  their  gorgeous  sacred  cars 
some  time  in  IMay.  As  for  Gion  machi,  it  might  be  a 
matsuri  there  all  the  year  round,  for  the  street  is 
always  crowded,  always  lined  with  booths  for  the 
same  toys,  sweets,  cheap  nicknacks  and  side  shows 
that  follow  from  temple  to  temple  on  the  Day  of  the 
Horse,  Day  of  the  Bird,  or  the  Monkey,  or  whoever’s 
turn  it  may  be.  Amusement  is  Gion  machi’s  trade. 


KYOTO— THE  TEMPLES. 


211 


and  was  in  the  old  days  even  more  than  now,  when 
its  pleasures  for  the  most  part  are  cheap  and  tawdry, 
its  brocades  faded  and  frayed.  Yet  even  so,  Gion 
festival  is  still  popular — perhaps  the  most  popular  of 
all  among  the  common  people.  Great  pagoda-like 
sl’.riues  are  carried  through  the  streets  by  a complex 
framework  of  poles  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  soine 
forty  or  fifty  men  at  a time,  and  the  crowd  straggles 
in  irregular  procession  before  and  after,  carrying  ban- 
ners and  emblems  and  les.ser  .shrines.  As  the  day 
goes  on,  everybody  becomes  more  and  more  hilarious ; 
the  bearers  are  ins})ircd,  perhaps,  by  the  sake  flask, 
and  they  work  themselves  into  a kind  of  frenzy, 
shouting,  running,  leaj)ing  in  a rude  dance,  and  even 
tossing  the  high  pagoda  into  the  air  and  catching  it 
again  on  their  shoulders.  Sncli  a feat  must  require  a 
unity  of  action  absolutely  j)crfect ; one  can  only  guess 
how  it  is  possible  at  all  after  watching  a band 
of  coolies  lift  some  huge  mass  of  stone  or  timber 
to  the  wail  of  a dolorous  chant,  making  many 
hands  do  the  Avork  of  hoist  or  crane.  Just  so, 
doubtless,  those  wonderful  walls  were  raised  at 
Nagoya  or  Hikone  or  Osaka,  or  at  the  Nijo  palace 
here  in  Kyoto. 

The  Bon  festival,  or  Feast  of  the  Dead — sometimes 
called  the  Feast  of  Lanteru.s — is  held  on  the  13th, 
14th  and  15th  days  of  the  seventh  moon,  reckoned  by 
the  old  calendar,  which  brings  it  in  the  middle  of 
August,  counting  by  the  new  one.  For  these  three 


212 


JAPAN. 


days  the  spirits  of  the  dead  who  have  died  within  the 
year  are  believed  to  come  back  to  their  old  homes, 
and  lanterns  are  lighted  and  special  offerings  made 
at  the  graves,  as  well  as  before  the  name-tablets  in 
the  house — food  and  wine,  and  a peculiar  dish  of  red 
beans  and  rice.  Fresh  flowers  are  arranged,  too,  and 
incense  burned  before  the  name-tablets  and  at  the 
graves ; and  the  house  has  been  cleaned  and  purified 
and  adorned  as  if  for  the  new  year,  that  the  unseen 
guests  may  know  they  are  made  welcome.  All  house- 
holds feast  and  exchange  gifts,  and  the  third  day  is 
the  ’prentices’  holiday — one  of  the  two  days  in  the 
whole  year  which  every  master  must  give.  The  chil- 
dren have  a fine  time,  and  think  Bon  almost  as 
good  as  New  Year’s  Day.  On  the  third  night 
the  dead  must  go  back  across  the  sea  to  the  dim 
land  where  they  dwell,  and  all  along  the  coast  tiny 
boats,  holding  torche.s,  are  set  floating  on  a falling 
tide,  that  the  lonely  souls  may  not  go  out  into  the 
utter  dark. 

This  last  night  is  called  the  Dai  INIonji  in  Kyoto, 
and  they  celebrate  it  by  lighting  huge  beacon  fires  on 
the  mountains,  piling  brushwood  for  days  beforehand 
in  long  clearings  cut  to  make  various  forms — the 
Chinese  character  for  dai  (great),  and  a torii,  a ship, 
a “ dai  reversed,”  and  other  signs,  traced  against  the 
wooded  hills  in  half-mile  lines  of  flame.  The  city, 
too,  is  a blaze  of  lights,  lanterns  hung  at  eveiy  house, 
strung  across  every  bridge,  dancing  and  bobbing 


KYOTO-THE  TEMPLES. 


213 


among  the  eager  crowds  that  fill  the  river  bed;  while 
out  on  the  hills,  below  the  glowing  bonfires,  constella- 
tions of  torches  mark  the  enclosures  where  the  dead 
are  laid.  The  Dai  Monji  is  at  once  gay  and  sad,  the 
most  characteristic  and  perhaps  the  most  appealing  of 
Kyoto’s  many  festivals. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


LAKE  BIWA  AND  ARASHIYAMA. 

“The  land  of  Yainato 
Has  mountains  in  numbers, 

But  peerless  among  them 
Is  high  Kagayama ; 

I stand  on  its  summit 
My  kingdom  to  view. 

The  smoke  from  the  land-plain 
Thick  rises  in  air ; 

The  gulls  from  the  sea-plain 
By  fits  soar  aloft. 

O land  of  Yamato  1 
Fair  Akitsushima! 

Dear  art  thou  to  me." 

— From  the  “ Manyoshiu.”  Aston’s  translation. 

“ I.sles  of  blest  Japan  ! 

Should  your  Yamato  Spirit 
Strangers  seek  to  scan, 

Say — Scenting  morn’s  sun-lit  air, 

Blowsthe  cherry,  wild  and  fair!’’ 

— Motoori.  Nitobe’s  translation. 


Few  cities  have  more  romantic  surroundings  than 
Kyoto.  iSlount  Hiezan,  three  miles  to  the  northwest, 
rises  two  thousand  seven  hundred  feet,  and  prolongs 
itself  southward  into  a long  ridge  and  a series  of  foot- 
hills reaching  almost  to  the  Karaogawa;  on  the  north 

214 


LAKE  BIWA  AND  ARASHIYAMA. 


215 


the  mountains  close  about  the  narrow  valley  of  the 
river,  heaping  again  around  the  west  side  into  a high 
barrier,  through  which  the  Katsuragawa  breaks  in 
foaming  rapids,  and,  emerging  suddenly  around  the 
turn  of  a sharp  hill,  widens  out  and  curves  gently 
across  the  little  plain  to  join  the  Kamogawa,  near 
Fushimi.  North  and  east,  directly  across  !Mount 
Hiezan  and  the  ridge,  lies  lake  Biwa,  most  beloved 
and  most  berhymed  of  all  the  waters  of  Japan.  This 
it  was  that,  tradition  says,  came  there  in  a night, 
being  the  hollow  whence  Fuji  as  suddenly  arose,  so 
that,  in  the  morning,  where  the  fields  had  been,  there 
was  rippling  water,  and  far  over  from  the  tops  of 
the  mountains  lifted  the  white  cone,  where  no  moun- 
tain was  before.  Therefore  the  lake  and  the  moun- 
tain are  believed  to  be  mysteriously  one,  and  when 
vou  trail  vour  hand  in  the  water  it  is  as  if  vou 
touched  the  cool  snows  of  sacred  Fuji. 

In  poetry  the  name  of  the  lake  is  Omi,  but  it  is 
connnoidy  called  Biwa,  Lake  of  the  Lute,  because  the 
shape  is  thought  to  resemble  a Chinese  musical  instru- 
ment of  that  name.  It  is  a very  considerable  body 
of  water,  thirty-si.x  miles  long  and  about  twelve  miles 
wide  throughout  its  upper  part,  though  the  southern 
end,  which  forms  the  neck  of  the  lute,  is  much  narrower. 
In  many  parts  the  shores  are  liigh  and  indented,  and 
mountains,  near  or  distant,  make  a picturescpie  setting 
all  the  way  around. 

The  outlet  of  the  lake  is  a small  river  flowing  out 


216 


JAPAN. 


of  the  southern  end,  too  small  and  swift  to  be  used 
for  navigation,  except  in  its  lower  part.  In  old 
times  a small  canal  continued  from  the  point  in  the 
river  to  which  boats  could  go  as  far  as  Fushimi ; but 
this  could  only  be  used  by  small  boats,  and  all  cargo 
from  the  sea  had  to  be  transferred  at  Osaka,  thirty 
miles  away.  This  has  been  replaced  by  a large  canal, 
fit  for  vessels  of  considerable  size,  which  is  cut 
through  the  hills  between  Kyoto  and  the  lake,  going 
part  of  the  way  by  three  tunnels.  To  manage  the 
descent,  an  incline  was  built  at  a point  just  beyond  the 
Awata  suburb  of  Kyoto,  by  which  the  boats  are 
hauled  up  on  cradles  by  a wire  rope ; this  is  worked 
by  an  electric  power-house  at  the  foot  of  the  incline, 
the  power  being  furnished  by  the  water  from  the  canal 
above,  which,  after  doing  this  service,  collects  into  a 
canal  again  and  finishes  the  distance  to  the  Kamo- 
gawa  canal,  and  by  this  reaches  the  river  near 
Fushimi.  In  this  way  boats  can  come  up  from  the 
sea  at  Osaka  and  carry  freight  or  passengers  through 
to  the  end  of  the  lake,  some  sixty  miles  in  all.  The 
plan  of  hauling  the  boats  up  the  incline  is  much  the 
same  as  the  old  Morris  canal  in  New  Jersey.  The 
enterprise  was  the  suggestion  of  a young  engineer, 
who  made  it  the  subject  of  a graduation  thesis  at  the 
Imperial  University.  His  proposal  was  accepted,  and 
he  was  given  charge  of  carrying  out  the  scheme, 
which  has  jwoved  exceedingly  successful.  Part  of  the 
water  is  turned  aside  at  the  top  of  the  incline  and 


LAKE  BIWA  AND  AEASHIYAMA. 


217 


used  to  irrigate  the  ])lain  to  the  north  of  the  city,  and 
also  to  run  another  electric  plant  which  supplies  most 
of  the  city  light,  operates  a trolley  street-car  line, 
and  furnishes  power  for  some  fifty  factories,  smaller 
and  larger. 

It  is  a beautiful  ride  from  Kyoto  to  lake  Biwa, 
over  the  old  Tokaido.  Crossing  the  river,  from  the 
main  part  of  the  town  by  Saujo  bridge,  and  keei[)ing 
through  the  continuous  suburb  of  Awafai — famous  for 
beautiful  china — it  curves  around  Maruyama,  keeps 
for  some  distance  near  the  canal,  though  not  often  in 
sight  of  it,  and  climbs  gradually  to  the  top  of  the 
ridge,  where  stood  the  first  barrier  out  of  the  city. 
Thus  far  friends  conveyed  their  departing  friends  or 
kin ; here  they  came  to  meet  them  after  absence ; and 
the  hill  was  called  The  Hill  of  Meeting.  A few  min- 
utes later  the  lake  appears  below,  and  the  jinrikisha 
men  race  down  the  half-mile  slope  of  smooth  road, 
among  a motley  crowd  of  foot  passengers  and  men 
with  carts,  toiling  up  or  running  lightly  down,  their 
bodies  thrown  back  and  shafts  held  hio-h.  Then 

O 

there  is  a sharp  rattle  through  the  streets  of  Otsu,  and 
you  are  at  the  shore  of  the  lake  and  the  landing  for 
the  steamers  that  ply  up  and  down,  calling  at  the 
various  little  ports. 

To  the  east,  the  country'  around  lake  Biwa  is  level 
and  rich,  the  hills  standing  back  towards  Sekiga- 
hara,  but  always  in  sight  across  the  rice-fields.  jMount 
Hiezau  is  close  by  on  the  south,  and  from  the  north 


218 


JAPAN. 


the  higlilands  of  Echizen  send  down  long  spurs  into 
the  water.  The  upper  portion  of  the  lake  is  rather 
wide  to  be  picture.sque ; the  nio.st  beautiful  part  is  the 
lower  end — the  neck  of  the  lute — and  it  is  just  this 
that  has  been  sung  and  celebrated  by  Japanese  writers 
and  j)ainters  for  more  than  a thou.sand  years.  Char- 
acteristically fanciful  are  the  “ Eight  Beauties  of 
Omi  ” — eight,  it  may  be  noticed,  being  a favorite 
number  for  such  categories.  They  are  the  Autumn 
Moon,  from  Ishiyama ; the  Evening  Snow,  on  Hira- 
yama ; the  Sunset  Glow,  at  Seta ; the  Evening  Bell, 
at  Miidera  ; Boats  sailing  back  from  Yabase  ; Bright, 
Windy  Bay,  at  Awazu ; Bain  l)y  Night,  at  Karasaki, 
and  Wild  Geese  Settling,  at  Katata.  Not  having 
reached  the  age  of  steam,  and  become  altogether  prac- 
tical and  materialistic,  a Japanese  is  not  ashamed  to 
gaze  with  delight  upon  a beautiful  scene  and  recite  an 
appropriate  poem,  such  perhaps  as  this : 

“ Unto  each  beholder’s  heart  confiding 
Whatsoever  thought  she  stirreth  there, 

Through  the  autumn  night  serenely  gliding, 

O’er  yon  peak  the  moon  shines  calm  and  fair.” 

Certainly  Miidera  deserves  to  be  ranked  among  the 
most  beautiful  places.  It  stands  high  on  a hill  above 
Otsu,  looking  over  the  flat  roofs  of  the  town,  which  is 
rapidly  growing  into  an  important  place,  and  therefore 
an  unbeautiful  one.  The  lake  lies  below,  picturesquely 
winding,  the  steep  green  shores  sloping  away  to  the 


LAKE  BIWA  AND  AKASHIYAMA. 


219 


blue  hills,  and,  for  foreground,  there  is  au  old  temple 
of  Kwaunon,  oue  of  the  original  “ Thirty-six  Holy 
Places.”  It  was  from  Miidera  that  the  merry  giant 
Benkei  stole  the  great  bell — this  was  iu  his  conveutual 
days — and  carried  itotf  on  his  shoulder  to  his  masters, 
the  rival  priests  of  Mount  Hiezan.  But  the  bell 
would  not  be  content,  and  its  murmurs  frightened  the 
jwiests,  who  thought  they  could  hear  it  crying,  “ I 
want  to  go  home  ! I want  to  go  home !”  So  they 
threw  it  over  the  hill,  and  it  rolled  and  rolled  till  it 
reached  its  own  temple  again.  There  it  is  now,  with 
the  scratches  on  its  sides  that  it  got  from  rolling  down 
hill ; and  they  show,  too,  the  great  iron  kettle  in  which 
the  naughty  monks  brewed  the  bean  soup  with  which 
they  bribed  Benkei.  So  it  must  all  be  true. 

Past  and  present  meet  together  at  Miidera,  as  every- 
where in  Japan ; the  smoke  of  the  steamer  trails 
across  the  classic  water,  and  smart  young  soldiers  from 
the  barracks,  in  the  uniform  copied  from  Europe,  walk 
about  the  venerable  temple,  side  by  side  with  worshij)- 
ers  in  the  coolie’s  blue  and  white  cotton,  or  the  peas- 
ant’s rain-coat ; or  respectable  town  matrons,  in  sober, 
dark  gowns  and  small,  flat  sashes — for,  as  at  most 
shrines,  it  is  chiefly  the  old  who  have  time  to  come 
and  worship. 

Of  the  great  monastery  on  Hiezan,  little  remains 
but  a small  group  of  buildings  on  the  slope  of  the 
mountain,  and  these  were  not  the  original  temples,  but 
those  erected  after  the  others  were  destroyed. 


220 


JAPAN. 


No  other  establishment  in  Japan  ever  equaled  this 
monastery  on  Hiezan ; the  shrines  of  Ise  were  far  more 
sacred,  and  other  Buddhist  seats  more  popular  with  the 
multitude,  but  the  learning  and  political  influence  of 
the  monks  of  Enrya-kuji  left  all  the  rest  behind. 
Indeed,  their  position  was  not  a little  like  that  of  the 
Vatican,  except  that  the  Emperor’s  prestige  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  gods  greatly  outweighed  theirs,  at  least 
in  theory  ; in  actual  practice  they  were  not  much  more 
submissive  to  him  than  the  feudal  nobility  were. 

Dengyo  Daishi  is  supposed  to  have  founded  the 
monastery,  at  almost  the  same  time  that  the  Emperor 
Kwammu  removed  the  Court  to  Kyoto  and  laid  out  the 
present  city.  The  mountain  stood  on  the  northeast, 
the  “demon  quarter,”  and  much  of  the  influence  of 
the  monastery  rose  from  the  fact  that  it  protected  the 
palace  from  the  danger  of  evil  influences,  just  as  the 
later  temple  at  Uyeno,  in  Tokyo,  protected  the  Sho- 
gun’s palace.  Many  of  the  ideas  about  demons  seem 
to  have  come  from  China,  along  with  Buddhism  itself ; 
at  New  Year  time,  both  in  China  and  Japan,  the  evil 
spirits  are  siq)posed  to  be  especially  active,  flying  about 
like  birds  and  trying  to  enter  people’s  houses.  One 
of  the  Japanese  customs  for  the  first  part  of  the  year 
is  to  go  out  on  the  seventh  day  and  gather  seven  herbs, 
which  are  to  be  chopped  up  for  soup ; in  some  parts 
of  the  country  the  master  of  the  house  must  cut  them 
himself.  Some  say  that  this  chopping  of  the  herbs  is 
a reminiscence  of  the  Chinese  habit  of  thumping  on 


LAKE  BIWA  AND  ARASHIA'AMA. 


221 


the  walls  to  frigliten  away  the  ill-omen  birds;  in  Japan, 
at  the  present  time,  when  going  through  the  dan- 
gerous rapids  in  certain  rivers,  the  boatmen  keep  up  a 
continuous  thumping  on  the  gunwale  of  the  boat ; and 
Hearn  speaks  of  a woman  who  did  the  same  thing 
Avhen  rowing  him  among  some  perilous  rocks  on  the 
coast,  on  the  way  to  a sacred  cave.  In  some  provinces 
they  sing  a song  while  cutting  the  herbs — 

“ Birds  of  ill-hap  pass  us  by, 

Never  here  from  China  fly ; 

Flit  and  hop,  flitting,  hopping, 

Chip-a-chop,  chopping,  chopping.” 


The  Enrya-kuji  on  Iliezan  belonged  to  the  Tendai 
sect,  which  was  one  of  the  earliest  brought  to  Japan 
from  China.  Dongyo  Daishi  and  his  companion, 
Kol)o  Daishi,  went  to  China  to  study,  and  brought 
back  many  books  and  images  and  much  learning;  and 
others  less  distinguished  followed  the  same  course  dur- 
ing a number  of  centuries.  It  was  Dengyo  and  Kobo 
Daishi  who  gave  the  name  Shinto  (Way  of  the  Gods) 
to  the  old  Kami  worship,  developing  and  pres-ing  the 
e.vplanation  of  the  Kami  as  manifestations  of  the  one 
supreme  deity,  and  tliereby  doing  away  with  antagon- 
ism between  the  two  faiths. 

A memorial  to  the  throne  in  901  shows  that  even  by 
tliat  time,  only  a hundred  years  after  Hiezan  was 
founded,  the  priests  had  already  waxed  fat  on  imperial 
favor,  and  held  large  estates  around  their  monasteries; 


222 


JAPAN, 


whereby  they  were  beeoming  haughty  and  puffed  up. 
Further,  the  disputes  between  the  “eight  sects”  began 
to  l)e  conducted  with  other  than  sj^iritual  weapons ; at 
Iliczan,  at  Nara,  at  Miidera  and  elsewhere,  the  monks 
had  already  begun  to  keep  military  bands  and  to  train 
their  priests  in  war.  The  custom  spread,  and  before 
long  nearly  every  temple  had  its  soldier  monks ; but 
nowhere  were  they  so  many  or  so  haughty  and  turbu- 
lent as  on  Iliezan.  If  the  priests  objected  to  the  ap- 
pointment of  an  abbot,  or  were  not  satisfied  with  his 
rule,  they  donned  their  armor  and  marched  down  to 
Kyoto  to  enter  their  protest  at  the  very  palace.  Some- 
times they  took  the  sacred  car  of  the  gods  from  the 
temple  and  bore  it  with  them  through  the  streets,  com- 
mitting all  sorts  of  violence,  and  threatening  the  palace 
itself;  in  such  a case  the  officers  were  afraid  to  deal 
forcibly  with  them,  because  of  their  sacerdotal  charac- 
ter, and  their  lawlessness  was  a constant  menace  to  the 
caj)ital. 

From  time  to  time  an  Emperor  availed  himself  of 
their  temporal  aid  as  well  as  their  prayers;  thus  Go- 
Daigo  gained  their  interest  through  his  sou,  the  priest 
Morinaga,  and  used  them  in  his  struggle  against  the 
Ilojo  regents.  The  Ashikaga  unsettlements  gave  them 
new  opportunity  for  power,  and  no  one  dared  meddle 
with  them  till  Xobnnaga  made  his  attack.  lie  pro- 
fessed that  their  evil  lives  were  a scandal  and  disgrace 
to  the  nation,  but  his  real  grievance  was  that  they  had 
sided  against  him  in  his  recent  difficulties  with  the 


LAKE  BIWA  AND  ARASHIYAMA. 


223 


Prince  of  Echizen.  He  sent  them  a message,  summon- 
ing them  to  repent  and  amend  their  ways,  but  they 
refused,  and  he  proceeded  to  j^unish  “ all  who  indulged 
in  meat  or  violated  the  law  of  celibacy.”  At  that 
time  Hiezan  was  like  a fortified  camp ; walls  rose  be- 
hind walls,  and  within  them  were  the  temples  and  vast 
monastery  buildings — it  is  said  that  there  were  five 
hundred  in  all — and  beautifully  laid  out  gardens,  be- 
sides images  and  pictures  and  a magnificent  eollection 
of  books,  which  drew  students  from  every  part  of  the 
country.  Witliin  the  enclosure  there  were  several 
thousand  persons,  priests,  monks,  and  figliting  men  and 
attendants,  besides  many  women.  Nobunaga’s  gen- 
erals were  aghast  at  the  thought  of  attacking  so  sacred 
a place ; but  he  replied,  “ I desire  to  restore  peace  to 
the  empire  and  authority  to  the  Emperor,  and  for  this 
I put  myself  in  peril  every  day;  but  so  long  as  these 
monks  defy  me  order  is  impossible.  I have  given 
them  their  choice ; they  would  not  accept  safety.” 
^lazeliere  compares  the  taking  of  Hiezan  to  the  saek 
of  Rome  by  the  Constable  de  Bourbon.  Nothing  was 
spared ; the  temples  were  burned,  the  library  and  price- 
less works  of  art  destroyed,  and  all  the  inhabitants 
put  to  death.  It  was  a crushing  blow  for  the  Tendai 
sect,  which  never  recovered  its  complete  sujiremacv, 
althougli  later,  Avhen  Teyasu  again  encouraged  Bud- 
dhism, the  monks  Avere  allowed  to  return  to  Hiezan 
and  rebuild  on  a much  smaller  scale,  not  on  the  top, 
but  on  the  slope  of  the  mountain. 


JAPAN. 


224 

The  view  from  the  top  sweeps  over  all  the  surround- 
ing country  ; on  the  one  side  is  the  city  in  its  girdle 
of  green  fields,  on  the  other  the  blue  lake  and  the 
mountains.  The  Kyoto  missionaries  have  made  them- 
selves a summer  home  here ; at  first  they  camped  in 
tents,  but  gradually  houses  have  been  built,  and  quite 
a large  community  gathers  here  to  enjoy  the  cool  air. 
It  is  very  much  cooler  and  fresher  than  the  city,  for 
the  top  of  Hiezan  is  higher  than  Xikko. 

The  loveliest  part  of  the  lake  is  along  the  lower 
end,  between  Otsu  and  the  point  where  the  Seta  flows 
out  at  its  southeastern  corner.  The  road  skirts  the 
lake,  under  an  avenue  of  pines,  and  to  the  right  lie 
the  rich  fields,  always  full  of  picturesque  life.  (From 
an  artistic  point  of  view  it  is  certainly  a crime  for 
farmers  to  wear  anything  but  faded  blue  cotton  and 
occasional  dashes  of  red.)  At  Seta  a long  bridge 
crosses  the  river,  or  rather  two  bridges,  resting  partly 
on  an  island  in  the  middle  of  the  stream ; this  double 
bridge  has  been  painted  and  sung  for  generations,  and 
so  has  the  “ temple  of  the  stony  mountain,”  Ishi- 
yaraa-dera,  Avhich  stands  a quarter  of  a mile  or  so 
fartlier  on.  It  is  one  of  the  Thirty-three  Holy  Places, 
and  a very  popular  shrine ; most  of  all  famous  because 
it  was  here  that  the  authoress  Murasaki  wrote  her 
great  work,  the  “ Romance  of  Genji” — Genji  J/ono- 
gatari.  It  is  a marvelous  tale  of  the  adventures  of  a 
knight  Avho  belonged  to  the  Genji  or  ^linamoto  family, 
and  whose  love  affairs  fill  page  after  page,  all  written 


LAKE  BIWA  AND  ARASIIIYAMA. 


225 


in  a style  so  poetical  and  perfect  that  it  set  a model 
for  Japanese  literature  in  the  eight  centuries  that  have 
followed.  When  Mnrasaki  composed  the  Genji,  the 
fit  of  genius  came  upon  her  so  suddenly  and  with  such 
violence  that,  hardly  knowing  what  she  did,  she  wrote 
her  tale  upon  the  back  of  a sutra,  or  Buddhist  gospel. 
Afterwards,  to  atone,  she  wrote  out  a copy  with  her 
own  hand,  and  it  is  shown  at  the  monastery,  along 
with  the  ink-stone  which  she  used. 

Near  the  middle  of  the  east  shore  is  the  little  town 
of  Ilikone,  interesting  chiefly  for  its  white-walled 
castle,  part  of  which  remains — thanks  to  the  Emperor, 
who  sto})ped  here  on  his  way  to  Tokyo  while  it  was 
being  pulled  down,  and  ordered  the  work  to  stop.  It 
was  the  .seat  of  Lord  li  Kamon,  kinsman  of  Toku- 
gawa  and  one  of  the  chief  Daimyo,  the  Regent  ap- 
j)ointed  by  the  Bakufu  to  help  them  through  the  })cr- 
plcxities  which  Commodore  Perry’s  coming  stirred  up, 
and  who  was  assassinated  in  Yedo  by  the  Mito  Ronin. 
There  is  an  excellent  inn  directly  in  the  palace  grounds, 
Avith  a beautiful  garden  about  it,  and  a most  lovely 
view  of  the  lake ; the  place  Avas  formerly  a A'illa  used 
by  the  Daimyo  Avhen  he  retired  in  faAmr  of  his  son. 

On  the  Avest  .shore  of  the  lake,  about  four  miles  from 
Otsu,  and  still  on  the  neck  of  the  fancied  lute,  there 
is  a Avonderful  old  pine  tree — so  old  that  nobody  knoAvs 
Avhen  it  AA’as  A'ounj;.  It  is  nearlv  a hundred  feet  luYh 
and  oA’cr  tAvo  hundred  and  fifty  feet  across,  and  the 
immense  spreading  branches  trail  far  out  over  the 
VoL.  II. — 15 


226 


JAl'AN. 


water,  making  music,  the  Japanese  poets  say,  when 
the  rain  trickles  softly  through  its  leaves.  Oddly 
enough,  this  great  pine  tree  of  Kawasaki  is  not  num- 
bered among  the  “ eight  beauties  of  Omi.” 

Quite  away  on  the  other  side  of  the  city  is  Arashi- 
yama,  where  the  yamazakara  grows — the  lovely  wild- 
cherry  blossom,  emblem  of  Japanese  knighthood. 
From  the  mountain  to  Kyoto  is  a five-mile  stretch  of 
level  road  across  the  fields,  that  in  April  are  like  an 
impressionist  poster  done  in  washes  of  pale  green  and 
yellow — the  vivid,  imnameable  yellow  of  the  rape. 
Three  months  later,  where  the  green  barley  was,  young 
rice  is  pushing  through  the  mud  ; aud  by  the  time  the 
maples  turn  in  the  gorge  all  the  plain  is  covered  with 
the  harvest,  a sweep  of  gold  and  amber  from  the  city 
to  the  hills.  Here,  in  spring,  the  slopes  beyond  the 
Katsuragawa  flush  into  delicate  bloom,  and  then  it  is 
that  the  poet  bids  one  come  at  dawn,  and,  looking  on 
the  sakura  flower,  “ learn  what  is  Yamato  damashii,” 
the  spirit  of  Japan.  At  least  one  may  learn  why  the 
poets  sang  of  the  wild  cherr\^,  for  it  is  indescribably 
lovely,  far  lovelier  than  the  sumptuous  double  blossoms 
of  Mukojima;  the  slender,  willowy  branches  seem 
lost  in  a pearly  pink  mist,  ethereal  as  the  faint  fra- 
grance, seeming  to  melt  into  the  pale  light  of  a 
Japanese  sky.  The  wild  sakura  is  the  emblem  of 
the  Bushi,  the  Samurai,  because  the  flower  falls  in 
its  perfection,  before  the  first  breath  has  marred  its 
purity ; even  so,  the  code  taught,  a knight  should 


LAKE  BIWA  AND  ARASIIIYAMA.  227 

fall  in  his  prime,  without  the  shadow  of  a stain  upon 
his  honor. 

Japanese  literature  is  full  of  allusions  to  the  sakura. 
“ Three  things  should  be  endured  with  patieuee — the 
clouds  that  hide  thy  moon,  the  wind  that  scatters  thy 
cherry  flowers,  and  the  man  who  seeks  to  pick  a 
quarrel  with  thee.” 

Or  this,  in  which  the  whole  law  of  Japanese  knight- 
hof)d  is  summed  up — the  law  that  bade  every  man 
seek  for  honor  at  whatever  cost ; 

“ If  she  puts  not  forth  her  blossom,  who  will  tear 
the  branches  of  the  sakura  ? The  tree  is  her  own  foe.” 

The  custom  of  cherry-viewing  is  attributed  to  an 
eighth  century  Emperor,  who,  on  an  expedition  in  the 
mountains,  sent  back  to  the  Empress  a branch  of 
blossoms,  with  a verse  to  the  effect  that  if  the  single 
twig  delighted  the  eye,  the  beauty  of  the  whole  tree 
would  drive  away  sleep. 

These  trees  on  Arashiyama  were  planted  by  a fif- 
teenth  century  Emperor,  though  no  one  could  guess 
that  they  had  not  grown  there  of  their  own  accord,  so 
perfectly  wild  and  natural  is  the  effect  of  the  forest. 

Arashiyama  is  scarcely  less  channing  in  autumn, 
when  bars  of  mist  lie  across  the  hillside  in  the  morn- 
ing and  afternoon,  and  all  Kyoto  comes  out  to  see  the 
maples.  This  is  the  time  of  times  to  shoot  the  rapids 
of  the  Katsuragawa.  They  begin  far  up  the  river  at 
a little  village  called  Yamamoto,  a three  hours’  ride 
from  Kyoto;  the  road  is  hilly,  and  not  too  good 


.228 


JAPAN. 


traveling  in  places.  There  you  take  a boat,  putting 
in  kuruina  and  men,  in  order  to  be  sure  of  getting 
back  from  Arashiyama  to  the  city ; they  are  queer 
long,  narrow  boats,  and  very  fle.xible,  as  they  have 
need  to  be  for  such  sharp  turns  and  swift  water ; but 
the  boatmen  are  most  skillful,  and  except  after  heavy 
rains  it  is  only  exciting,  not  really  dangerous.  The 
distance  is  thirteen  miles,  and  the  whole  way  down 
the  gorge  is  wild  and  picturesque.  The  river  swirls 
down  it  in  a series  of  rapids,  now  broken  with 
islands,  now  rushing  straight  between  precipitous 
banks,  now  winding  and  dodging  among  a throng  of 
rocks.  At  Arashiyama  there  is  an  excellent  tea- 
house, and  for  those  who  have  not  come  down,  boats 
can  be  hired  for  a little  row  up  the  river,  to  the  end 
of  the  la.st  rapid.  It  is  an  admirable  place  to  see  the 
good  people  of  Kyoto  enjoying  themselves  in  their 
best  apparel,  for  a Ja])ane.se  damsel  would  as  .s<Jon  go 
cherry-viewing  in  her  ordinary  clothes  as  one  of  the 
“ Four  Hundred  ” would  appear  at  the  opera  in  a trav- 
eling dress.  The  flash  of  sunlight  on  light  crapes  and 
gorgeous  sashes  adds  not  a little  to  the  picturesqueness 
of  Arashiyama. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE  THEATRE. 

It  is  written  in  the  Xiliongi  that  when  Prince  Fire 
Fade  subdued  Ids  elder  brother,  Prince  Fire  Shine, 
bv  the  help  of  the  magic  tide  jewels,  the  elder  brother 
humbled  himself  and  promised  to  be  subject  to  him 
forever.  And  in  token  of  his  humility.  Prince  Fire 
Shine  thereupon  danced  a pantomimic  dance,  indtat- 
ing  the  action  of  one  who  is  drowning,  as  he  himself 
was  about  to  drown  when  Ih’ince  Fire  Fade  drove 
back  the  flowing  tide.  He  stripped  off  his  clothing, 
and  bespattered  his  face  with  reddish  mud,  and 
“ lifted  his  feet  and  stamj)ed  and  walked.  Then  he 
turned  over  the  soles  of  his  feet,  as  if  the  tide  began 
to  wet  them;  and  when  it  reached  his  knees  he  lifted 
up  his  legs.  Then  he  ran  around  when  it  reached  his 
thighs,  and  he  placed  his  hands  over  his  breast  when 
it  reached  his  sides;  and  when  it  reached  his  neck  he 
waved  his  hands.” 

This  .sort  of  play  was  no  doubt  much  like  those 
descriptive  dances  performed  by  the  American  Indians 
and  other  savages,  and  which  are  little  removed  from 
the  telling  of  a story  in  sign  language,  as  the  Indians 

229 


230 


JAPAN. 


of  our  plains  do  so  graphically.  As  in  all  countries, 
they  branched  out  two  ways — into  the  .sacred  Kagura 
dances  of  the  Shinto  shrines,  and  the  comic  Saru-gaku 
or  monkey  dances,  the  ancestors  of  time  comedy. 
These  were  probably  danced  at  first  to  no  other  accom- 
paniment than  the  tsudzumi,  the  small  hand-drum 
shaped  almost  like  a short  hour-glass,  which  they  smite 
with  the  hand  and  arm,  much  as  Italian  girls  use  a 
tamboriue. 

There  is  no  lack  of  popular  dancing  to  the  pre.sent 
time.  Whenever  there  is  a local  festival  or  matsuri, 
they  set  up  little  platforms  in  open  .spaces  by  the  side 
of  the  street,  and  here,  above  the  heads  of  the  passers- 
by,  girls  or  boys  sway  and  turn  and  posture  to  the 
.sound  of  a drum  and  some  har.sh  nasal  singing.  It  is 
not  high  art,  or  high  anything  else ; but  it  is  an  evi- 
dent survival  of  historic  dances,  and  for  anything  that 
I know  may  have  a religious  significance  both  for 
spectators  and  performers. 

As  soon  as  intercour.se  began  with  China,  Chinese 
music  was  introduced — with  modifications,  if  we  may 
judge  by  the  present  state  of  music  in  the  two  coun- 
tries. It  undoubtedly  influenced  Japanese  music, 
except  in  the  service  of  the  Shinto  temples,  Avhere,  as 
in  their  architecture,  the  national  type  was  preserved 
with  the  greatest  purity.  From  early  times  dramatic 
dances,  Avith  music,  w'ere  performed  at  Court,  the 
Chinese  and  Korean  varieties  side  by  side  with  the 
A'amato,  or  strictly  Japane.se.  The  chief  mstruments 


THE  THEATRE.  231 

used  were  the  koto  or  harp,  the  drum,  and  the  flute  or 
flageolet. 

In  the  twelftli  century  there  seem  to  have  been  two 
kinds,  kno\vn  as  the  men’s  and  the  women’s  dances, 
the  one  using  swords  and  spears,  and  the  other  dis- 
carding them  for  beautiful  women’s  dresses;  and  from 
these,  in  the  next  two  generations,  was  developed  the 
historical  and  lyric  No,  which  stands  between  the  / 
mere  pantomime  dance  and  lyric  drama  ])roper. 

What  the  No  added  was  an  explanatory  song,  occa- 
sionally sung  by  the  dancer  or  dancers  themselves, 
but  more  often  by  a special  chorus  which  took  no  ])art 
in  the  action,  but  expounded  motives  and  expressed 
moral  sentiments  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  didactic 
chorus  everywhere.  Like  the  miracle  plays  of 
Eiu’ope,  the  first  object  of  these  No  was  instruction ; 
their  authors  were  Court  nobles  and  priests,  Buddhist 
or  Shinto ; but  the  greater  number  were  written  by 
Buddhist  priests.  Their  subjects  were  drawn  from 
mythology,  history  and  romance,  such  as  the  events  in 
the  lives  of  the  gods,  or  tales  of  the  heroes  and  pious 
men  and  women ; some  also  were  taken  from  Chinese 
history,  and  from  the  Buddhist  writings  of  India. 
The  Japanese  themselves  claim  that  many  of  the  most 
beautiful  passages  in  their  literature  are  imbedded  in 
the  stilted,  archaic  phraseology  of  the  No  verses,  and 
Aston  seems  to  bear  them  out. 

A good  No  performance  is  an  exceedingly  imj)res- 
sive  thing — very  much  more  so  than  the  Kagura 


282 


JAPAN. 


dances  of  the  temples,  because  those  are  marred  for 
Western  eyes  by  the  tawdry-looking  headgear  of  the 
virgins  who  officiate,  and  the  thick  plaster  of  whiting 
which  overspreads  their  impassive  faces,  and  gives 
them  a strained,  lifeless  appearance ; their  garments, 
too,  are  bulky  and  almost  grotesque,  though  the  color 
is  often  very  beautiful.  The  Xo  performers,  on  the 
other  hand,  are  clad  in  the  armor  of  knights,  which 
at  once  gives  Jieight  and  dignity  to  the  figures. 
Masked  and  helmeted,  and  carrying  great  swords  or 
spear.s,  they  stand  on  a raised  platform  and  go 
through  a series  of  gestures  and  poses,  advancing  and 
retreating,  lifting  and  thrusting  the  huge  weapons,  all 
in  time  to  the  wailing  music  of  the  flutes  and  the 
high-pitched,  straining  voices  of  the  chorus.  The 
poses  would  be  violent,  if  they  were  not  so  slowly, 
rhythmically  made  that  you  feel  the  reserve  force — 
the  restraint  of  power,  and  the  perfect  balance,  as  of 
a Phidian  metope,  wdiich  makes  such  postures  pos- 
sible. 

Down  to  the  present  era  Xo  dances  were  considered 
an  appropriate  accomplishment  for  young  Samurai ; 
several  might  practice  them  together,  j)art  taking  the 
movements,  part  the  chorus.  It  was  hardly  thought 
of  as  an  amusement,  but  as  a useful  exercise  for  mind 
and  body.  The  language  is  so  antique  and  obscure 
tliat  at  present  only  scholars  Avho  are  up  in  cla.ssical 
Japane.se  undertake  to  understand  a Xo  chorus. 

In  the  hi.story  of  the  feuds  between  clans  there  is 


THE  THEATRE. 


233 


a story  which  illustrates  this  practice  of  the  N6 
among  young  gentlemen.  It  is  a story  of  the  struggle 
between  loyalty  and  the  individual  sense  of  right, 
such  as  mast  have  tormented  many  a noble  soul  in 
those  days.  The  lord  of  a province,  smarting  under 
a defeat,  told  some  of  his  young  knights  that  he 
wished  a special  service  of  them  ; it  was  to  get  into 
the  castle  of  his  enemy  and  assassinate  him.  One  of 
the  young  men,  named  Koben,  begged  his  master  to 
reconsider  such  an  unworthy  proposal ; another  re- 
proached Koben  and  called  him  a coward.  The  youth 
withdrew,  and  prepared  to  commit  harakiri.  But  his 
mother,  overhearing  his  preparations,  came  to  his 
room  and  questioned  him ; and  when  Koben  related 
what  had  happened,  she  told  him  that  it  was  his 
duty  to  obey  his  lord,  no  matter  what  he  required. 
Koben  therefore  said  farewell  to  her  and  departed  on 
the  hateful  errand. 

To  get  himself  admitted  to  the  castle  he  had 
already  a plan  ; he  presented  himself  as  a wandering 
knight,  and  when  asked  what  he  could  do,  modestly 
claimed  some  skill  in  Kd  dancing.  The  attendants 
brought  him  before  their  lord,  and  Koben’s  beauty 
and  grace  so  won  the  prince  that  he  invited  the 
young  man  to  take  service  with  him  as  a page.  This 
Koben  did,  and  remained  with  his  new  master  many 
months,  being  always  about  his  person. 

At  last  one  night  Koben,  who  watched  bv  the 
prince’s  side,  roused  him  with  a cry,  “ Ilise  up,  my 


234 


JAPAN. 


lord ! Your  enemy  is  before  you !”  The  prince 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  confronted  the  page,  who 
briefly  declared  why  he  had  come,  hut  that  he  could 
not  strike  in  the  dark,  and  now  bade  him  fight  for 
his  life.  For  a few  minutes  they  clashed  swords; 
then  the  guards  rushed  in  and  took  Kohen  prisoner. 
The  prince  then  told  him  he  had  known  his  intent 
long  before,  and  that  his  old  master  was  now  dead, 
slain  in  a recent  battle — ending  by  a frank  forgive- 
ness and  an  invitation  once  more  to  take  service  with 
the  new  lord,  whom  he  had  learned  to  love.  But 
Kobeii  sadly  refused ; the  death  of  his  master  could 
not  end  his  duty  so  far  as  to  set  him  free  to  serve 
that  master’s  sworn  enemy.  The  prince  then  bade 
him  go  unmolested;  and  Koben  went  out,  and  found 
his  old  master’s  head  where  it  was  exposed  on  the 
castle  moat,  and  killed  himself  there.  For  once  there 
is  a woman  in  the  story — the  beautiful  daughter  of 
the  prince’s  chief  retainer,  who  was  promised  to  Koben 
in  marriage.  She  cut  her  hair  in  token  of  widow- 
hood, and  went  to  the  house  of  Kobeu’s  mother, 
remaining  with  her  as  a daughter  as  long  as  she  lived. 

As  the  Shinto  temples  had  platforms  for  the  Kagura 
dance,  so  many  of  the  Buddhist  tem})les  have  such  a 
stage  for  the  No  performances,  the  chorus  sitting  on 
side  platforms  well  out  of  the  way.  Naturally  many 
of  these  temple  No  enforce  a moral,  or  exalt  the 
power  of  the  Buddhist  priesthood,  and  the  value  of 
exorcisms  and  the  like.  Such  is  the  famous  “ Stone 


THE  THEATRE. 


235 


of  Death/’  founded  on  a legend  concerning  the  deso- 
late moor  of  Nasu,  some  distance  to  the  north  of 
Nikko.  On  this  moor  was  a stone  which  no  one  dared 
touch,  for  whatever  did  so,  whether  man  or  beast  or 
plant,  was  straightway  killed.  One  evening  a priest 
came  across  the  moor,  and  stopping  to  rest  beside  the 
stone,  lieard  a voice,  warning  him  to  depart.  The 
voice — represented  by  the  chorus — goes  on  to  explain 
the  reason.  Long  ago  a wicked  spirit  took  the  form 
of  a woman  and  dwelt  in  the  palace,  being  greatly 
b(‘loved  of  the  Emperor,  whom  she  bewitched  with 
her  charms  ; but  one  evening  there  was  a sudden  blaze 
of  light  about  her  body,  and  at  the  same  moment  the 
Emperor  was  seized  with  a fatal  disease.  The  exor- 
ci.sers  were  called,  and  compelled  her  to  take  her  true 
shape,  so  that  she  tied  away  as  a fox,  and  the  dogs 
chased  her  even  to  the  Nasu  moor.  When  the  chorus 
has  finished  the  recital,  the  evil  si>irit  herself  appears, 
and  confesses  that  it  is  she  who  haunts  the  Death 
Stone  and  does  all  the  mischief.  The  priest  performs 
a Buddhist  exorei.sm,  and  the  troubled  sj)irit  is  laid 
forever.  The  moral  needs  no  pointing. 

Between  the  parts  of  the  severe  Xo  it  was  usual  to 
offer  mental  relief  in  the  form  of  a Saru-gaku,  or 
monkey-play — usually  the  broadest  kind  of  a farce, 
conducted  in  pantomime,  with  a little  choric  assist- 
ance. Just  so  at  present,  in  the  Tokyo  theatre,  a bit 
of  broad  farce  is  introduced  to  relieve  the  tension,  .say 
between  the  tragic  deaths  of  the  Forty-seven  Faith- 


236 


JAPAN. 


fills  and  Asagao’s  pathetic  adventures  in  search  of  her 
lover. 

Another  early  form  of  dance  was  the  Odori,  the 
modern  representative  of  which  is  probably  the  maple- 
dance  or  the  butterfly-dance,  and  the  other  graceful 
posturings  of  the  Tokyo  and  Kyoto  geisha.  The.se 
Odori  were  danced  by  girls  then,  as  at  the  present 
time. 

Now,  about  the  year  1602,  a beautiful  girl,  called 
Okuni,  appeared  in  A^edo,  with  her  husband,  and  they 
opened  a kind  of  a theatre,  where  they  gave  a new 
sort  of  exhibition.  It  was  a combination  of  No, 
Saru-gaku  and  Odori,  accompanied  by  flutes  and 
drums  and  stringed  instruments.  This  girl  had  been 
a viiko,  or  virgin,  at  a Shinto  shrine  in  Idzumo ; but 
she  fell  in  love  with  a Ilonin  and  ran  away  with 
him  to  Yedo.  While  they  were  on  the  way  they  met 
another  Ronin,  who  joined  them  and  traveled  with 
them  for  .some  time ; and  he,  likewise,  fell  in  love 
with  the  beautiful  dancer,  perceiving  which,  tlie  first 
fought  with  him  and  killed  him.  Okuni’s  beauty  and 
grace,  and  the  novelty  of  the  dramatic  dances,  made 
the  new  style  all  the  fashion.  She  remained  in  A"edo 
and  acted  as  long  as  her  husband  lived ; but  Avhen  he 
died,  she  cut  her  hair  and  became  a nun,  .spending  her 
life  in  prayers,  not  only  for  him,  but  for  the  Ronin 
whom  he  killed  for  love  of  her. 

According  to  another  version  of  Okuni’s  stoiy,  she 
began  her  career  by  going  about  from  temple  to  tern- 


THE  THEATRE. 


237 


pie,  dancing  the  Kagnra  and  collecting  funds  to  rebuild 
the  Idzumo  shrine.  At  this  time  a literary  knight 
ased  to  write  dramatic  recitations  for  her  to  weave 
with  her  dances,  and  he  afterwards  married  her,  for 
which  he  was  discharged  by  his  feudal  lord.  They 
then  went  to  A"edo  and  opened  the  theatre,  as  already 
related. 

Meanwhile  another  element  of  the  drama  was  devel- 
oping. This  Avas  the  historical  recitation,  with  or 
without  the  accompaniment  of  a biwa,  or  Chinese  lute, 
a custom  that  seems  to  have  come  down  from  the 
period  before  writing,  when  professional  reciters  held 
office  at  the  Court.  Later,  when  tlie  development  of 
writing  made  this  office  useless,  it  Avas  dropped ; but 
tales  continued  to  be  AA'ritten  and  recited,  under  the 
name  of  katari,  or  gatari,  like  the  “Genji  Monoga- 
tari " of  Murasaki.  To  tlie  monotonous  chant  in 
Avhich  they  Avere  uttered,  tlie  rhapsodists  sometimes 
added  tones  borrowed  from  the  Buddhist  invocations, 
or  from  dance  music,  AAnth  intent  to  make  the  recita- 
tion livelier  or  more  impressiA’e. 

Words  and  action  AA^ere  now  almost  ready  to  unite 
into  the  drama ; but,  oddly  enough,  the  medium  Avhich 
brought  them  together  A\'as  a kind  of  Punch  and 
Judy  show,  or  Italian  marionette  theatre — a recitation 
gi\’en  along  AA’ith  the  performances  of  cleverly-made 
])up])ets.  This,  Avhich  AA’as  called  gidayv,  originated  in 
Osaka,  and  AA’ent  from  there  to  Kyoto  and  Yedo ; and 
it  became  exceedingly  popular,  largely  becau.se  almo.st 


238 


JAPAN. 


at  the  .same  moment  a real  dramatist,  Chikamatsu  by 
name,  appeared  and  began  to  write  plays  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  manager  was  likewi.se  an  exeellent  reciter, 
who  rendered  the  speeches  with  great  force  and  made 
bis  puppets  take  the  parts  very  entertainingly.  Even 
now  there  are  story-teller’s  balls  in  Tokyo  and  el.se- 
wbere,  in  which  the  gidayu  are  recited  to  music, 
usually  without  the  puppets. 

A word  concerning  tlie.se  .story-teller’s  halls.  There 
are  fifty  of  them  licensed  in  Tokyo,  and  no  amuse- 
ment can  rival  them  in  tlie  popular  mind ; at  least,  if 
the  reciter  knows  his  business.  A huge,  scpiare  paper 
lantern  hangs  at  the  door,  bearing  the  names  of  the 
story-tellers  who  are  reciting  there  at  the  moment ; 
there  is  generally  one  star  narrator  and  three  or  four 
pupils  or  a.ssociate.s,  who  fill  up  part  of  the  evening, 
since,  unlike  the  regular  theatre,  these  halls  are  open 
only  at  night — a sure  token  that  it  is  the  working 
and  the  student  classes  that  they  appeal  to.  At  the 
door  are  the  usual  numbered  shelves  for  the  shoes, 
because  you  mu.st  check  these  in  Japan,  as  you  would 
an  umbrella  in  America.  The  hall  is  matted  with 
tatami,  and  the  story-teller  sits  on  a little  platform, 
with  a stand  in  front  of  him  and  a hibachi  at  his 
side;  the  audience  place  themselves  on  the  floor, 
sometimes  hiring  thin  cu.shions  from  the  attendant,  at 
a fraction  of  a cent  a night.  The  admission  itself  is 
only  a few  sen. 

There  is  no  action  whatever ; hardly  even  a ges- 


THE  THEATEE. 


239 


ture  of  the  hands  or  body.  The  reciter  emphasizes  a 
point  at  times  by  tapping  a fan  on  the  stand  in  front 
of  him,  as  the  Buddhist  priests  also  do  in  their  ser- 
mons. Contortions  of  the  face  there  may  be,  especially 
in  the  funny  pieces ; but  that  is  all.  Xor  is  it  even  a 
recitation  of  something  already  written  down ; it  is 
story-telling,  pure  and  simple,  spiced  with  puns  and 
jokes,  like  an  American  minstrel-show. 

They  say  the  first  professiomd  story-teller  was  a 
Kyoto  man,  who  came  up  to  Yedo  to  present  a }5eti- 
tiou,  and  waited  three  years  in  vain.  After  that  he 
was  ashamed  to  go  back  home;  so,  by  way  of  a liveli- 
hood, he  sat  by  one  of  the  castle  gates,  reading  and 
explaining  a certain  book  of  chronicles  of  the  deeds 
of  the  Taira  family.  The  readings  became  very  jx>pu- 
lar,  and  others  took  up  the  idea ; but,  instead  of  read- 
ing history,  they  soon  began  to  enlarge  on  a given 
account  out  of  their  own  imaginations.  Besides  hero 
tales,  these  story-tellers  relate  fragments  of  the  drama, 
love  stories,  exciting  recent  events  and  the  latest  piece 
of  scandal,  domestic  or  political — all  embroidered  with 
sensational  details,  and  punctuated  with  dramatic 
pauses  and  sharp  raps  of  the  fan  on  the  little  stand. 

The  star  performer  always  comes  last — the  invaria- 
ble nde  in  Japan — and  he  sometimes  recites  a single 
piece,  or  more  often  a continuous  story,  lasting 
through  the  whole  two  weeks  which  make  the  usual 
run ; and  he  takes  good  care  to  stop  each  time  at  the 
most  thrilling  {wint.  The  better  grade  of  these 


240 


JAPAN. 


reciters  are  often  employed  to  enliven  dinner  parties 
and  other  entertainments,  and  they  are  said  to  get 
very  good  fees. 

The  theatre  proper  is  a much  more  .serious  affair. 
There  is  no  mere  evening  performance  here;  in  the 
good  old  days  the  play  used  to  begin  at  daybreak  and 
last  till  midnight ; and  though  now  the  show  is 
restricted  by  law  to  eight  hours,  from  eleven  in  the 
morning  to  six  in  the  evening  seems  to  the  American 
mind  quite  an  undertaking.  In  old  times  the  [ier- 
formance  used  to  be  announced  by  beating  a big 
drum,  as  they  do  still  for  the  wrestling  matches ; it 
was  an  imitation  of  the  signal  which  summoned 
retainers  to  the  castle  in  times  of  danger.  The  old 
theatres  are  disappearing,  too,  replaced  by  large  new 
ones,  slightly  different  in  plan,  and  protected  by  tiled 
roofs  and  thick  fire- walls. 

The  chief  theatre  in  Kyoto  is  in  Gion  machi,  by 
the  po})ular  Gion  temple.  In  Tokyo  it  is  the  Kobi- 
kiza,  where  Danjuro  plays;  this  is  quite  near  Shin- 
bashi  station,  and  almost  on  the  edge  of  Tsukiji,  the 
foreign  Concession.  Gi’eat  colored  posters  beside  the 
door  announce  the  play  that  is  running,  or  rather 
plays,  for  besides  the  chief  piece,  they  generally  give 
parts  of  three  or  four  others  in  lighter  vein. 

The  floor  of  the  house  is  entirely  divided  up  by  par- 
titions a foot  or  so  high,  making  little  boxes  of  a “half 
mat  ” each — that  is  to  say,  three  feet  square.  These 
boxes  are  occupied  by  four  or  even  five  persons,  which 


THE  THEATRE. 


241 


speaks  for  the  modesty  of  ladies’  draperies  in  Japan, 
as  well  as  the  slightness  of  their  figures.  In  the  Kobi- 
kiza  theatre,  there  are  also  boxes  raised  in  tiers  at  the 
sides,  and  a gallery  at  the  back,  where  you  may  have 
the  privilege  of  paying  three  prices,  and  sitting  in  a 
chair  with  your  boots  on. 

Two  passage-ways,  one  wide  and  one  narrow,  cross 
the  floor  of  the  house  at  a level  with  the  top  of  the 
partitions  between  the  boxes ; and  by  these  the  actors 
usually  arrive  and  depart,  although  there  are  also 
entrances  at  the  sides  of  the  stage.  Over  the  left  en- 
trance is  a little  balcony,  hidden  by  a screen,  where 
the  chorus  sits,  and  joins  with  voice  and  instruments 
Avhen  recjuired  — not  infrecpiently  while  the  actor  is 
still  speaking. 

The  arrangement  of  the  stage  itself  is  peculiar.  In 
the  middle  of  the  space,  occupying  most  but  not  all  of 
it,  is  a round  platform  which  revolves  on  a pivot,  like 
a turn-table,  and  is  worked  by  men  under  the  stage ; 
partitions  divide  it  into  thirds,  and  each  third  repre- 
sents a scene,  so  that  by  turning  the  platform  about 
a new  scene  is  presented  without  furtlicr  delay  or 
trouble.  Scenerj'  in  the  ordinary  sen.sc  flanks  the 
])latform,  and  the  curtain  descends  in  front  of  all.  On 
this  platform,  and  the  spaces  before  and  beside  it,  the 
actors  strut  and  pose  in  the  stagiest  of  attitudes,  attired 
in  wonderful  garments,  modeled  after  the  age  they  rep- 
resent; armor,  gorgeous  court  robe.s,  or  the  Samurai’s 
dress  of  ceremony,  with  the  broad,  stificned  folds  over 
VoL.  II.— 16 


242 


JAPAN. 


the  shoulders.  They  discourse  in  a strained,  high- 
pitched  voice,  most  unpleasant  to  the  ears,  but  made 
necessary  by  the  constant  interventions  of  the  chorus. 
No  woman  may  act  upon  the  Japanese  stage;  men 
actors  are  usually  trained  to  take  women’s  parts,  and 
it  is  one  of  Danjuro’s  glories  that  he  acts  equally  well 
either  as  a man  or  a woman.  The  gestures,  too,  are  set 
and  extravagant,  and  it  is  impossible  to  forget  for 
many  moments  tlie  dance  from  which  they  grew. 

Another  and  at  first  very  amusing  feature  of  the 
stage  is  the  “ blackamoor,”  who  attends  to  clearing 
things  up  after  a figiit,  disposes  of  “i)roperty”  that  is 
no  longer  needed,  and  makes  matters  smooth  generally. 
They  are  dressed — there  are  usually  two  or  more  on  at 
a time — in  black  clothes  and  hoods,  and  by  a stage 
fiction  they  are  supposed  to  be  invisible ; they  crouch 
in  some  obscure  corner,  ready  to  run  noiselessly  out 
and  gather  up  a discarded  cloak,  or  take  a fallen 
knight  by  the  heels  and  remove  him  to  some  limbo 
behind  the  scenes. 

Ichikawa  Danjuro,  the  “ Heniy  Irving  of  Japan,” 
as  his  admirers  call  him,  is  the  ninth  actor  who  has 
borne  the  name.  The  first  was  a youth  who  played  in 
Yedo  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  or 
about  sixty  years  after  Okuni  and  her  inventions ; 
Ichikawa  Danjuro  was  not  his  real,  but  his  stage  name, 
which  he  left  to  his  son.  The  name  Ichikawa  he  be- 
stowed on  all  his  pujiils ; for  the  actor’s  was  a guild 
like  all  the  rest  of  the  employments,  and  the  new  ones 


THE  THEATRE. 


243 


had  to  be  apprenticed  as  to  any  other  trade.  In  the 
nine  generations  there  have  been  four  adoptions  made, 
becaase  the  holder  of  the  name  had  no  son ; the  seventh 
member  is  counted  the  ablest  of  them  all,  and  the  pres- 
ent representative  is  a son  of  his.  He  is  no  longer 
young,  but  must  be  in  the  fullest  of  vigor,  for  he  acts 
for  hours  in  the  tremendous  poses  of  the  Japanese  stage 
— exercise,  surely,  that  one  of  our  gyumasts  would 
hesitate  to  undertake.  Mr.  Osman  Edwards  gives  a 
pleasant  description  of  a call  on  the  great  man,  who, 
he  says,  has  none  of  the  affectations  of  many  AVesteru 
actors  when  off  duty ; he  declares  that  Danjuro 
“ becomes  less  of  an  actor  and  more  of  an  archbishop 
in  jiroportion  as  he  realizes  every  year  the  growing 
prestige  and  veneration  attached  by  the  bulk  of  his 
compatriots  to  the  chief  of  the  Japane.se  stage.” 

Favorite  plays  are  the  adventures  of  Yo.shitsune  and 
Bcnkei,  such  as  the  scene  at  the  Ilakone  pa.ss,  when 
Ik-nkei  .so  cleverly  got  his  master  by — Danjuro  told 
Edwards  that  this  was  the  role  he  liked  be.st — or  the 
time  that  they  and  their  followers  were  all  in  danger 
of  being  shipwrecked  through  the  malice  of  evil  spirits, 
and  no  one  could  do  anything,  till  Benkei  came  to  the 
re.scue.  Stationing  himself  on  the  prow  of  the  ship, 
he  lifts  a rosari-,  and  chants  an  exorcism  that  quiets 
wind  anti  waves ; ship  and  crew  are  saved,  to  the 
wondering  joy  of  all. 

Other  plays  deal  with  the  misfortunes  of  the  Emperor 
Go-Daigo,  victim  of  the  disloyal  Hojo  and  Ashikaga. 


244 


JAPAN. 


They  recount  how  he  was  exiled  to  a little  island ; 
how  the  good  islanders  contrived  his  escape  on  a little 
boat ; and  how,  to  their  dismay,  the  government  offi- 
cials came  down  to  search  for  the  missing  prisoner. 
There  was  just  one  hiding-place  possible,  under  a great 
])ile  of  dried  fish  ; and  into  this  unpleasant  refuge  the 
Emperor  crept,  and  lay  in  safety  till  the  officers  satis- 
fied themselves  that  all  was  rigid,  and  went  away. 
And  again,  when  he  was  once  more  a prisoner,  a brave 
young  knight,  named  Kojima,  followed  the  escort  who 
were  taking  his  master  again  into  exile.  For  many 
days  he  sought  in  vain  for  some  means  to  communicate 
with  the  Emperor,  that  he  might  at  least  bid  him  take 
heart,  knowing  that  his  followers  were  still  faithful. 
At  last  one  night  Kojima  managed  to  get  into  the 
courtyard  of  the  inn  where  the  train  had  stopped,  and 
])laning  with  his  sword  the  bark  of  a cherry  — the 
Samurai’s  flower — wrote  thereon  a poem  : 

“ O Heaven  ! Destroy  not  Kosen, 

For  he  hath  yet  a Hanrei.” 

In  the  morning  the  soldiers  found  the  writing,  but 
were  too  ignorant  to  read  it,  and  asked  the  Emperor  to 
tell  them  wliat  the  characters  meant;  nor,  when  they 
heard  the  poem,  did  they  see  anything  of  importance 
in  it.  But  the  Emperor  understood  the  allusion  to  a 
Chinese  Emperor,  who,  after  twenty  years  of  fighting, 
at  last  overcame  his  enemies  through  the  valor  of  the 
faithful  knight  Hanrei. 


THE  THEATRE. 


245 


That  all  these  things  move  the  spectators  deeply  is 
very  evident ; but  to  those  who  are  not  very  familiar 
with  the  story  it  is  not  always  easy  to  follow.  The 
fact  is  the  audience  are  likely  to  be  more  entertaining 
to  a stranger  than  the  play  itself.  They  are  mostly  of 
the  middle  class,  and  they  come  with  all  the  family  and 
settle  down  for  the  day,  grandma  and  baby  and  all.. 
Men  and  women  smoke,  the  teapot  man  goes  his 
rounds,  and  by  and  by  the  tea-house  next  door  — 
through  which  everybody  purchases  theatre  tickets  — 
sends  in  its  dcjnities  bringing  trays  of  lunch  boxes, 
and  every  one  falls  to  between  acts.  The  women  sit 
demurely,  or  chatter  among  themselves;  the  men  yawn 
and  stretch  mightily,  and  the  children  run  up  and 
down  along  the  narrow  partitions,  and  even  on  the 
“flowery  way”  reserved  for  the  actors.  If  the  ])lay 
becomes  too  pathetic,  the  ladies  of  the  party  disaj)pear 
into  their  long  sleeves,  or  even  retire  from  the  audi- 
ence to  weep  unrestrained. 

But,  after  all,  hampered  though  it  is  by  wearisome 
conventionalities,  by  exaggerations  and  restrictions,  it 
is  not  to  be  denied  that  Japanese  drama  is  both  inter- 
esting and  at  times  deeply  im|)ressive,  even  to  one 
who  looks  on  without  comprehending  a word,  and  with 
only  a vague  notion,  at  the  best,  of  what  the  actors 
are  trying  to  express.  Also,  in  judging  of  its  merits, 
we  have  to  remember  that  till  thirty  years  ago — the 
time  when  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  j)lays  were  written, 
and  when  many  of  the  actors  now  on  the  boards 


246 


JAPAN. 


learned  their  art — it  was  against  the  law  for  a Samu- 
rai to  enter  a theatre.  That  is  to  say,  he  was  not 
actually  forbidden  to  enter,  but  it  was  one  of  the 
places  where  he  might  not  go  wearing  a sword ; and 
not  to  wear  a sword  was  to  be,  for  the  time  at  least, 
no  better  than  another  man.  So,  if  a knight  entered 
such  places  at  all,  he  had  to  do  so  in  disguise ; and  as 
a consequence,  tlie  theatres  had  to  draw  their  con- 
tingent from  the  ordinary  people — the  merchants  and 
the  artisans,  who  were  not  the  lettered  class  at  all. 
It  is  only  since  the  beginning  of  Meiji,  with  its  re- 
forms and  wholesale  destruction  of  the  rigid  class 
lines,  that  all  men  have  begun  to  frequent  the  the- 
atre whenever  they  wish  to  do  so ; and  even  ladies 
attend  at  times.  There  can  be  no  question  bnt  that 
this  prohibition  of  the  gentry  had  much  to  do  in 
forming  the  style  of  the  plays,  and  in  keeping  the 
drama  from  reaching  a place  in  the  national  literature 
at  all  to  be  compared  with  Sophocles  or  Shakespeare. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


FETES  AND  FLOWERS. 

“ Hark  ! on  the  snow-laden  branches 
Nightingales  sing; 

Do  they  take  the  white  drift  on  the  plum  tree 
For  petals  of  spring  ?” 

— From  the  “Kokinshu.” 

“ No  man  so  callous  but  he  heaves  a sigh 

When  o’er  his  head  the  withered  cherry  flowers 
Come  flutt’ring  down.  Who  knows?  The  spring’s  soft  showers 
May  be  but  tears  shed  by  the  sorrowing  sky.” 

— Chamberlain. 

New  Japan  rccognize.s  eleven  national  holidays  ; 
the  first,  third  and  fifth  days  of  the  new  year ; Janu- 
ary 80,  the  anniversary  of  the  death  of  the  late 
Emperor;  February  11,  the  festival  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, which  was  signed  in  1885,  on  the  anniversary  of 
the  accession  of  Jinmnu  Tenno ; the  spring  equinox, 
March  20 ; April  28,  the  death  of  Jimnui  Tenno ; 
after  which  they  skip  all  the  way  to  September  28, 
kept  as  the  autumn  equinox.  The  first  harvest  thanks- 
giving (the  Divine  Tasting)  is  on  October  17;  the 
Emperor’s  birthday  on  November  3,  and  the  second 
hars’est  thanksgiving  on  November  28. 

247 


248 


JAPAN. 


These  are  the  official  holidays,  when  banks  and 
schools  and  public  offices  are  closed ; but  the  people 
keep  many  more,  mostly  religious  ones ; or,  at  least, 
religious  iu  their  origin.  About  the  year  900  the 
Emperor  Uda  (whom  Michizane  served)  established 
five  festivals,  all  in  the  odd  mouths,  and  each  on  the 
day  corresponding  to  the  number  of  the  month — the 
first  of  the  first  mouth,  third  of  the  third,  fifth  of  the 
fifth,  and  so  on,  all  the  way  around  to  the  ninth  of  the 
ninth  month,  the  festival  of  clmsanthemums.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  these  mouths  were  reckoned 
by  the  Chinese  lunar  calendar,  and  that  Xew  A^ear’s 
day  fell  some  time  in  February;  so  that  the  seventh 
month  was  our  August,  or  perhaps  part  of  September, 
and  the  ninth  of  the  ninth  mouth  would  come  late  in 
October,  or  early  in  November.  But  each  month  in 
the  year  has  some  special  festival,  celebrated  more  or 
less  universally  throughout  the  country.  The  greatest 
of  all  is  the  New  A^ear,  and  after  that  in  popular  esti- 
mation stands  Bon,  or,  more  properly,  Urabon,  the 
Feast  of  the  Dead,  iu  midsummer.  At  these  two  fes- 
tivals gifts  are  universally  exchanged,  and  in  each 
one  day  is  set  apart  for  the  apprentices’  holiday,  the 
only  seasons  in  old  times  when  they  were  absolutely 
free  to  go  where  they  would.  By  an  arrange- 
ment, which  must  have  been  convenient  for  the 
masters,  the  ’prentices’  day  falls  each  time  at  the 
end  of  the  feast ; but,  as  members  of  the  master’s 
family,  they  had  already  shared  all  the  home  fes- 


FETES  AND  FLOWERS.  249 

tivities,  as  well  as  the  labor  of  the  jweparations  for 
the  feast. 

For  each  of  the  festivals,  and  for  all  the  months, 
there  are  certain  designated  flowers ; in  fact,  one 
might  spend  half  one’s  time  the  year  through  “ flower 
viewing”  at  one  or  another  famous  garden,  and  find 
the  people  as  interesting  as  the  blossoms,  for  everybody 
goes,  gentry  as  well  as  bourgeoisie,  and  all  the  women 
dress  in  their  best — not  in  gaudy  geisha  costumes,  but 
exquisitely  delicate  crepes ; light  colors  even  in  win- 
ter, because  the  flowers  suggest  spring,  and  one  must 
be  ajipropriate.  To  tell  the  truth,  it  usually  feels  any- 
thing  but  .‘jpring-like  when  the  plum  blossoms  begin  ; 
they  come  first  and  stay  longest,  flowering  by  the  end 
of  January  in  sheltered  places.  Little  dwarf  trees 
in  close  bud  are  foreed  carefully  for  New  Year  con- 
gratulation gifts,  since  tlie  Western  Avorld  has  driven 
back  the  calendar  to  fit  its  own  wintry  feast.  The 
Japanese  love  their  \t,me  blossoms  just  because  they 
are  first,  as  we  love  trailing  arbutus,  and  as  our  Eng- 
lish kin  love  the  INIay ; their  charm  is  to  brave  the 
frost,  and  if  a snow  comes — the  rare,  brief  snow  of 
the  south — half  Tokyo  rushes  to  Kameido  to  see 
the  whiteness  on  the  flowers,  and  to  see  them  shake 
it  off,  only  the  fresher  and  more  fragrant  for  the 
chilly  load.  Then,  too,  it  is  in  order  to  write 
j)oems  of  just  thirty-one  syllables,  on  thick,  narrow 
poem-papers,  and  hang  them  on  the  branches.  Such 
as  this : 


250 


JAPAN. 


“ Were  she  belated,  the  utne  could  not  vie  with  the  sakura ; 
because  she  is  first,  the  prize  of  color  and  fragrance  is  hers.” 


Or  this : 


“ How  shall  I find  my  ume  tree? 

The  moon  and  the  snow  are  white  as  she. 

By  the  fragrance  blown  on  the  evening  air, 

Shalt  thou  find  her  there.” 

But,  unhappily  for  sentiment,  the  pa,steboard 
takes  a drenching  mueh  le.ss  safely  than  the 
flowers  do,  and  after  a storm  the  efiect  of  a tree 
strung  over  with  these  draggled  scraps  is  anything 
but  decorative. 

The  trees  at  Kameido  are  the  famous  “ Creeping 
Dragons,”  old,  old  trunks,  twisted  and  almost  lying 
on  the  ground — the  older,  more  bent  and  gnarled  the 
tree,  the  greater  the  delight  in  its  delicate  bloom,  as  a 
gentle  woman,  they  say,  shows  fairest  in  adversity. 
The  trees  out  at  Omori  are  less  wonderful  in  this  way, 
but  make  up  by  a profusion  of  bloom  and  the  beauty 
of  the  situation,  so  that  they  are  scarcely  less 
popular. 

Conder  quotes  a pretty  story  of  the  daughter  of  a 
certain  poet,  whose  favorite  plum  tree  was  sent  for  by 
the  Lord  High  Chamberlain,  to  replace  one  that  had 
died  in  the  imperial  garden.  Of  course  she  could  not 
refuse,  but  she  managed  to  tie  a little  poem  out  of 
sight  among  the  branches : 


FETES  AND  FLOWEES. 


251 


“Claimed  for  our  Sovereign’s  use, 
Blossoms  I’ve  loved  so  long — 
Can  I in  duty  fail  ? 

But  for  the  Nightingale, 

Seeking  her  home  of  song, 
How  can  I find  excuse?  ” 


Tlie  Emperor  fouud  the  poem  and  read  it,  and  the 
tree  went  back  to  the  bird  and  the  maiden. 

The  ume  lingers  with  tlie  lingering  southern  spring; 
the  nightingale  or  warbler,  uguisu,  sings  month  after 
month  in  the  branches,  his  note  growing  more  plaint- 
ive, they  say,  as  April  draws  near  : 


“ Cry,  Uguisu  ; spring  comes  not  again  for  a year.” 


February  is  the  month  of  Inari  Sami,  the  fox  god, 
and  his  temple  reaj)s  a rich  harvest  from  the  devout, 
who  hope  he  will  help  them  to  get  rich  in  the  coming 
year.  As  the  god  of  rice  fields,  he  receives  special 
attention  from  the  country  people ; and  at  bis  festival, 
on  all  the  roads  leading  to  the  Inari  temples,  posts  are 
set  up  and  hung  with  oblong  paper  lantern.s,  bearing 
rude  pictures  and  homely  texts,  such  as  the  mo.st  un- 
learned can  understand.  All  the  small  boys  have 
access  to  a great  drum  in  the  temple  court,  and  on  the 
days  of  the  festival  they  thump  it  from  morning  till 
night.  Two  months  belong  especially  to  children ; 
IMarch  to  the  girls  (how  ever  did  they  happen  to  come 
first?)  and  May  for  the  boys — the  third  day  of  the 


252 


JAPAN. 


third  month,  and  the  fifth  day  of  the  fifth  month, 
respectively. 

The  girls’  day  is  called  Hina  matsuri,  the  Feast  of 
Dolls.  Each  household  where  there  are  daughters  has  a 
set  of  little  figures,  often  handed  down  for  generations, 
re2)resenting  the  Emperor  and  Empress  in  splendid 
robes,  five  Court  ladies  in  white  ovei’dres.ses  and  scarlet 
skirts,  and  five  musicians  to  play  to  them ; all  seated 
on  a set  of  portable  shelves  made  for  the  purpose. 
Other  dolls  of  less  dignity  are  seated  on  the  lower 
shelves,  and  before  each  is  placed  au  array  of  real  food 
on  tiny  dishes,  along  with  miniature  household  utensils 
and  toilet  cases,  writing  materials,  in  fact,  tiny  models 
of  everything  that  any  one  could  use  in  real  life,  often 
made  of  the  finest  porcelain  and  lacquer.  The  holiday 
dish  of  rice  and  red  beans  is  prepared  for  them,  and  a 
kind  of  mild,  sweet  wine,  called  .shirosake ; and  when 
the  doll  nobility  have  been  served,  be  sure  the  little 
mistresses  get  their  share.  All  the  girls  have  holidav 
and  are  dressed  in  their  best,  and  the  family  dolls  go 
visiting  friends  and  relations,  and  are  entertained  with 
their  mistresses  on  dainty  sweets ; and  when  it  is  all 
over  their  majesties  and  all  their  train  go  back  to  their 
silk  bags  and  boxes  till  the  day  comes  round  again, 
other  ordinary  dolls  staying  out  to  be  played  with 
through  the  year. 

The  boys’  day  is  very  properly  a more  active  and 
out-of-doors  affair ; it  is  really  a military  feast,  a 
reminiscence  of  the  victory  over  the  ^lougol  armada. 


.'•‘•'i.vr 

■ . 1 ill 

• :T' 


» • 


;r 


FETES  AND  FLOWEES. 


253 


and  flags  and  toy  swords  are  much  in  order.  The 
tokonoma  in  the  best  room  is  set  with  pictures  or 
figures  of  three  famous  heroes,  the  Taiko  Ilideyoshi, 
his  general  Kato  Kiyomasa,  the  conqueror  of  Korea, 
and  a semi-fabulous  brave  named  Watonai.  ^ut 
the  chief  characteristic  of  the  occasion  is  the  custom 
of  flying  huge  paper  carp,  like  flags,  on  high  bamboo 
poles — a fish  for  every  boy  in  the  household.  The 
meaning  is  that  the  carp,  like  the  salmon,  swims  up 
streams  and  even  waterfalls,  and  so  is  the  emblem  of 
courage  and  perseverance  in  overcoming  difficulties — 
the  model  which  all  small  bovs  should  follow.  The 
paper  fish  are  sometimes  twenty  feet  long,  two  or  three 
sometimes  fluttering  on  a single  pole  far  above  the 
roofs ; they  are  hollow,  and  have  a ring  at  the  mouth 
and  a hole  at  the  tail,  so  that  the  wind  sweej)s  through 
and  makes  them  dip  and  struggle  and  undulate  in  the 
most  life-like  manner,  precisely  like  a fish  struggling 
against  the  current.  As  Mrs.  Iwamoto  puts  it,  “the 
fish  are  nothing  more  than  the  outward  expression  of 
the  fond  parents’  wish  for  tlicir  boys,  that  they  may 
be  as  as})iring  and  as  courageous  as  the  koi” 

The  war  of  kites,  too,  delights  the  youngsters  on 
these  windy  S])ring  days,  and  many  a grown-u])  enjoys 
the  sport,  with  his  little  brother  or  son  for  an  excuse. 
The  strings  are  armed  with  sharp  pieces  of  glass,  tied 
near  the  kite,  and  the  object  is  to  cut  the  other  boy’s 
string  and  release  his  kite,  while  saving  your  own 
from  a like  fate.  In  some  provinces  the  kites  are 


254 


JAPAN. 


immensely  large,  made  of  as  many  as  two  thousand 
small  sheets  of  paper,  pasted  together ; in  others  they 
are  small,  and  around  Nagoya  the  smaller  they  are, 
the  greater  the  honor  of  getting  them  to  fly  high. 

On  the  l)irthday  of  Buddha,  which  falls  in  April,  a 
curious  ceremony  is  performed  at  some  of  the  temples. 
The  priests  j)lace  an  image  of  Buddha  in  a tub  in  the 
temple  court,  and  make  a temporary  roof  over  it, 
adorned  with  green  branches ; then  they  fill  the  tub 
with  a decoction  of  hydrangea,  called  ama-cha,  or 
sweet  tea,  which  is  said  to  taste  rather  like  weak 
black  tea.  A long-handled  ladle  is  provided,  and 
with  this  the  devotees  ladle  up  the  ama-cha  and  pour 
it  over  the  image  ; and  after  making  a small  contri- 
bution to  the  temple,  carry  home  some  of  the  tea  as  a 
remedy  for  sickness. 

On  the  first  “ Day  of  the  Horse,”  in  April,  the  vil- 
lages of  Omi  province,  on  the  east  shore  of  lake  Biwa, 
keep  a peculiar  festival.  All  the  women  walk  in  pro- 
cession, each  carrying  on  her  head  as  many  earthen- 
ware pots  as  she  has  had  husbands.  Now  it  is  no 
disgrace  for  a woman  to  marry  again  after  she  has 
been  divorced  or  widowed,  yet  still  it  is  higher  honor 
to  have  had  but  one  spouse;  and  a considerable  num- 
ber rather  implies  that  the  dame  is  of  a shrewish 
tongue,  or  otherwise  an  undesirable  companion,  and 
so  has  been  frequently  tried  and  found  wanting.  But 
it  will  not  do  to  cheat ; they  firmly  believe  the  gods 
Avill  punish  any  one  who  does  not  produce  her  full 


FETES  AND  FLOWERS. 


255 


tale.  They  say  that  one  woman  who  had  had  several 
husbands  thought  she  would  get  out  of  it  neatly  by 
setting  a number  of  little  pots  inside  a large  one, 
which  stood  for  her  present  goodman ; but  she  was 
rightly  rewarded,  for  as  she  walked  with  the  rest  she 
tripjied,  and  the  pots  came  tumbling  down,  the  big 
one  broke,  and  the  little  ones  rolled  out  for  all  the 
world  to  see. 

With  April  a tide  of  pink  sweeps  over  the  world — 
the  faint  cloud-pink  of  cherry  bloom;  at  classic  Yoshino 
in  Akinuito,  at  Arashiyama,  at  Uyeno  in  Tokyo,  at 
Mukojiina  and  out  at  Oji ; all  along  the  castle  moat, 
between  the  greening  willows ; flaunting  over  hedges 
and  behind  high  yashiki  walls — everywhere  they  are 
in  flower,  delicate,  elusively  sweet,  crowding  every 
twig  with  lavish  blossoming,  only  to  fling  a storm  of 
petals  on  the  first  rough  wind. 

“ Cheriy-blossom  Sunday  ” at  Uyeno  park  is  one 
of  the  prettiest  sights  in  all  Japan.  The  wide  avenue 
sloping  up  from  the  town  is  an  arch  of  j)ink  mi.st, 
leading  to  acres  of  pale  rose-color  against  a back- 
ground of  pine  and  cryi)tomeria  and  live  oak ; the 
})cople  throng,  and  the  tea-houses  have  si>read  their 
best  red  blankets  on  the  matted  jJatform.s,  which 
serve  for  seat  and  table.  Here  will  come  a couj)le  of 
deifo,  or  running  groom.s,  crying,  “ Hai ! Tlai !”  before 
some  grandee’s  carriage;  there  is  a line  of  jinrikishas, 
a dignified  old  gentleman  at  the  head  and  his  family 
behind ; yonder  is  a party  spreading  a blanket  under 


256 


JAPAN. 


the  trees  and  sitting  down  to  picnic  delightfully  on 
rice  sandwiches ; and  again  a group  of  young  men, 
carrying  each  a cherry  branch  over  his  shoulder,  and 
at  his  belt  a sake  gourd,  which  he  meaas  to  have  filled 
and  refilled  at  the  various  wine-shops,  till  he  is  glori- 
ously and  entirely  drunk — at  which  point  they  will 
all  fall  sound  asleep,  and  the  nearest  policemen  will 
pack  them  into  kurumas,  two  and  two,  and  send  them 
safely  off  home ; for  nobody  is  allowed  to  be  intoxi- 
cated in  a public  place  in  Japan. 

Sake  seems  to  be  inseparably  connected  with  cherry 
blossoms ; the  first  allusion  to  them  in  literature  is  in 
the  fifth  century,  when  an  Emperor  went  on  a picnic 
and  the  petals  fell  into  his  wine-cup.  And  another 
Emperor  wrote  a poem,  saying,  “Without  wine,  who 
can  properly  enjoy  the  sight  of  the  cherry  blos- 
soms ?” 

To  tell  the  truth,  a good  deal  of  extra  license  is 
permitted  in  cherry  time  and  in  certain  specified 
places.  The  wildest  doings  of  Tokyo  are  at  l\Iuko- 
jima,  where  for  three  miles  a double  avenue  of  cherry 
trees  stretches  along  the  far  bank  of  the  Sumida  be- 
side the  road,  which  runs  like  a dike  between  the 
river  and  the  rice-fields.  In  a meadow  at  the  end 
of  the  avenue  flags  fly  and  booths  are  set  up,  drums 
beat  — turn  ! — tum-tum ! — you  woidd  recognize  a 
Japanese  drum-beat  anywhere  by  the  queer  time — 
and  a squeaky  brass  band  plays  “ IMarehing  Through 
Georgia’’  and  other  festive  tunes;  for  they  made  a 


FETES  AND  FLOWERS.  257 

patriotic  war  song  to  old  Georgia  in  ’95,  and  it  is 
entirely  naturalized  under  the  Sun  Flag. 

Tea  booths  stand  all  along  the  bank  under  the 
trees,  and  between  them  surges  a dense  crowd,  abso- 
lutely given  over  to  carnival.  Of  course,  no  Japan- 
ese gentlewoman  is  ever  seen  there,  and  for  a foreigner 
it  is  decidedly  better  not  to  understand  what  is  said ; 
but  the  crowd  is  good-humored  and  entirely  harm- 
less, and  does  not  go  beyond  carnival  jests ; the  police 
would  not  permit  that.  More  or  less  drunk  it  cer- 
tainly is,  and  wildly  hilarious;  mummers  rush  about 
in  all  sorts  of  fantastic  costumes,  men  dressed  as 
women,  or  in  harlequin  garments,  red  and  white,  the 
color  of  spring  and  happiness.  Presently,  with  great 
shoutings,  comes  the  shrine  of  some  god,  dragged  on 
a car  or  carried  on  men’s  shoulders,  and  ringed 
about  with  a dancing,  singing  crowd.  The  river,  too, 
is  gay  with  roofed  pleasure  boats,  where  the  geisha’s 
siunisen  twangs  all  day  long.  Probably  the  ancient 
Bacchanalia  and  Saturnalia  were  not  very  unlike 
cherry  time  at  Mukojima. 

The  proper  Howei’s  for  May  are  the  great  peonic.s, 
hofan,  and  the  azalea  and  Wistaria.  The  botan  is  too 
delicate  to  do  well  in  the  open  ground  without  a great 
deal  of  sheltering  from  wind  and  sun  and  rain,  and  it 
is  to  be  seen  in  perfection  only  in  special  gardens ; 
but  the  azalea  is  wild  all  through  the  mountains,  and 
will  grow  almost  anywhere;  so  in  May  the  flower  fairs 
at  night  are  full  of  them,  and  hillside  gardens  are 
VoL.  II.— 17 


258 


JAPAN. 


a blaze  of  spleiiflid  color.  The  special  place  for  them 
in  Tokyo  is  the  suburb  of  Okubo,  where  the  trains 
make  extra  stops  in  the  azalea  season.  And  another 
beautifully  planted  garden  of  them  covers  a steep 
slope  in  Kojimachi,  not  far  from  the  palace,  in  the 
midst  of  which  an  irregular  slab  of  granite  marks  the 
spot  where  Count  Okubo  was  assa.ssinatcd.  It  was  no 
mere  brutal  crime,  but  an  affair  of  intense  political 
conviction  ; the  Count  stood  for  progress  and  the  in- 
crease of  foreign  influences,  and  the  band  of  fanatics 
who  killed  him  verily  believed  they  were  saving  their 
country  from  destruction  in  the  good  old  way.  Stand- 
ing on  the  hillside  among  tlie  bushes,  where  the  chil- 
dren play  tag  and  string  necklaces  of  the  fallen  flowers, 
it  is  hard  to  realize  that  all  this  Sturm  und  Drang  of 
transition  was  only  twenty  years  ago. 

For  a Japanese,  a cardinal  point  in  the  enjoyment 
of  flowers  is  that  they  shall  be  appro[)riate  to  the  sea- 
son, and  arranged  in  a natural  way ; iris,  for  instance, 
is  used  for  decoration  in  .several  months,  and  each  time 
the  habit  of  the  plant  at  that  part  of  the  year  must 
be  duly  considered ; in  spring  the  leaves  are  straight 
and  stiff,  and  the  flower-stem  short;  in  summer  the 
leaves  are  full  and  spreading,  and  the  flowers  have 
“much  spirit”;  in  autumn  the  flower-stems  are  long 
and  the  leaves  bent  and  curled — all  of  which  must  be 
properly  emphasized  in  making  the  bouquet  for  the 
tokonoma.  The  vases,  too,  must  have  attention;  for 
riverside  plants  a flat  dish  is  appropriate,  with  or  with- 


FETES  AND  FLOVVEKS. 


259 


out  pebbles  strewn  over  it ; a morning-glory  should 
have  a hanging  vase  of  bamboo,  and  pine  goes  well  in 
a handsome  bronze  decorated  with  figures  of  storks. 
Indeed,  the  variety  of  material  and  form  is  endless, 
and  utterly  bewildering  to  the  outsider,  who  can  only 
guess  at  the  symbolic  meaning  of  hill,  short,  wide 
and  narrow,  basketwork  and  porcelain.  Yet  it  does 
mean  something,  and,  after  all,  it  is  like  so  many 
puzzles — plain  as  day  when  you  once  know  how  to 
do  it. 

They  do  not  make  bouquets  of  flowers  iu  our  sense ; 
as  Conder  says,  “ Wliereas  the  Western  amateur  de- 
votes his  attention  mainly  to  the  blossoms,  the  Japanese 
lover  of  flowers  bestows  his  admiration  on  tiie  whole 
character  of  the  plant  or  tree” — and  what  they  are 
trying  to  do  is  to  make  it  seem  to  be  actually  growing. 
So  they  include  under /tana  a great  deal  besides  flowers ; 
sncli  as  |)ine,  bamboo,  willow  branches,  grasses  and 
autumn  leaves. 

'file  art  of  flower  arranging  is  said  to  have  come 
from  India,  and  to  have  been  orijjinallv  intended  to 
preserve  the  flowers  used  in  ritual  from  the  effects  of 
tlie  tropical  heat ; and  that  it  came  to  Japan  witli  Bud- 
dhism. As  miglit  be  supposed,  it  was  one  of  tlie  arts 
seized  upon  by  the  clia-no-yu  devotees,  who  developed 
it  into  a fine  art,  and  added  unto  it  fancies  and  esoteric 
mysteries  after  their  own  hearts.  It  stands  to  reason, 
also,  that  an  artful  naturalness  and  a crafty  simjilicity 
were  what  they  strove  after,  and  attained,  too,  for 


260 


JAPAN. 


them.selves  and  their  followers,  by  means  of  innate 
taste  and  a multitude  of  exact  rules. 

The  theory  of  it  is  perfectly  simple ; it  is  only  to 
arrange  the  flowers  so  as  to  form  a triangle,  the  “ prin- 
cipal branch  ” long,  the  others  on  each  side  of  it  shorter 
by  one-half  and  two-thirds,  respec-tively.  All  the 
branches  must  curve  a little,  and  each  in  just  the  right 
way ; the  central  one  bends  out  and  returns  to  make 
nearly  a vertical  line  from  top  to  bottom ; the  second 
and  third  follow  its  lead.  If  there  are  more  branches, 
they  come  in  as  “ supports”  between  the  others  ; there 
may  be  five  in  all  6r  seven — never  an  even  number ; 
and  the  number  of  blossoms  should  also  be  uneven. 
Buds  are  preferred  to  full-blown  flowers,  both  because 
they  keep  better  and  because,  like  the  Greeks,  the 
Japanese  love  the  promise  of  youth. 

Here  are  some  of  the  things  that  may  be  expressed 
by  flowers : 

Aspiration.  Decayed  wood  and  climbing  creeper. 

Affection.  Pine  branch  with  Wistaria  twining 
around  it ; the  vase  should  be  bronze. 

Serenity.  A bronze  vase  in  the  shape  of  a boat, 
and  small  white  chrysanthemums  arranged  to  represent 
the  masts  and  rigging  of  a ship  in  port. 

Austerity.  Suzuki  grass  and  the  field  flower  called 
patrina  in  a small  bronze  vase. 

“ Many  of  those  who  take  a fancy  to  this  art  do  not 
really  love  flowers,”  Avrote  a certain  tea-master  a cen- 
tury ago.  “ They  are  only  trying  to  show  their  skill 


FETES  AND  FLOWERS. 


261 


in  arranging  them,  and  they  treat  them  cruelly,  bend- 
ing, twisting  and  plucking  leaves  and  flowers  without 
mercy.  Those  who  cherish  flowers  in  reality  should 
strive  to  change  the  natural  form  as  little  as  possible, 
and  to  preserve  them  as  long  as  possible  by  dipping 
them  deep  in  pure  water.”  Which  seems  to  be  very 
sensible  advice,  such  as  even  Americans  may  compre- 
hend. 

In  June  it  is  proper  to  ride  up  the  river  past  Muko- 
jima  and  out  across  the  plain  to  the  iris  fields  at  Ilori- 
kiri.  They  are  not  the  common  early  irises  which 
flower  in  April;  these  are  the  large  “Japanese” 
variety,  which  need  irrigation  to  do  their  best,  and  are 
planted  in  patches  divided  by  little  dikes,  like  .so 
many  tiny  rice  fields  in  an  acre  or  two  of  level  meadow. 
Gentle  grassy  slopes  rise  all  around,  tastefully  set 
with  shrubbery  and  a few  trees,  and  small  tca-hoiuses 
stand  about  at  the  prettiest  points,  overlooking  the 
field  spread  out  below  like  a white  and  purple  carpet. 
The  paths  wind  in  and  out  among  the  shrubbery  and 
along  the  dikes,  and  peo[)le  wander  about  admiring 
beautiful  individual  flowers;  and  in  the  tea-house  tliey 
sell  cut  blossoms  and  colored  prints  of  the  newest  and 
choicest  varieties.  The  imperial  purples  and  clear 
lavenders  accord  well  with  the  early  heat  of  June,  and 
the  showery,  muggy  days  that  begin  the  rainy  sea.son, 
which  is  due  the  11th  of  June,  but,  needless  to  say,  is 
not  always  punctual.  Delayed  rains  mean  ])lenty  of 
trouble  for  the  farmers,  for  the  young  rice  must  have 


262 


JAPAN. 


water,  and  as  you  ride  back  across  the  fields  you  some- 
times see  a peasant  carrying  two  buckets  on  a pole  or 
treading  a small  water  wheel,  laboriously  irrigating 
his  little  plot.  In  such  seasons  the  roads  get  very 
dusty,  and  the  sun  beats  down  pitilessly,  while  the 
shrill  zeeing  of  the  cicadas  seems  to  aggravate  the 
tense  heat. 

With  full  summer  comes  the  lotus,  flower  of  Buddha, 
and  introduced  with  his  teachings ; it  is  not  the  Egyp- 
tian Nelumbo,  but  the  great  rose  lotus  of  India,  grow- 
ing high  above  the  water  among  large  blue-grec  n 
leave.s,  and  looking  like  a bit  of  the  tropics,  although 
the  pond  it  grows  in  may  have  had  a skim  of  ice  an 
inch  thick  in  January,  and  they  flourish  even  in  the 
ice-bound  Hokkaido. 

Because  of  the  place  where  it  gi-ows,  the  lotus  is  a 
symbol  of  purity  under  trial  and  temptation,  much  as 
we  speak  of  a lily  from  a dust  heap : 

If  thou  art  born  in  a poor  man’s  hovel,  yet  hast 
wisdom,  thou  art  even  as  the  lotus  flower  growing  out 
of  the  mud.” 

The  correct  time  to  visit  the  lotus  ponds  is  at  sun- 
rise, when  the  buds  are  supposed  to  open  so  suddenly 
that  you  can  hear  them  crack  ; and  many  devotees  do 
go  at  that  hour  in  spite  of  the  early  habits  of  a July 
sun.  If  one  fails  to  hear  anything  very  startling,  at 
least  one  may  see  a lovely  pearly  dawn,  and  bars  of 
mist  floating  up  across  the  ITyeno  pines. 

The  morning-glory,  or  asagao,  too,  must  be  viewed 


FETES  AND  FLOWERS. 


263 


before  the  day  is  Avell  begun,  and  this  may  be  one 
reason  why  the  cult  is  rather  an  e.soteric  one — that,  and 
the  great  difficulty  of  getting  the  fancy  varieties  in  per- 
fection. It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find  the 
flower  a favorite  with  tlie  cha-no-yu  masters,  in  whose 
reunions,  indeed,  the  cult  originated  ; Ilikyu,  the  master 
cha-jin,  having  been  an  assiduous  a.sagao  cultivator. 
The  delicacy  and  perishable  nature  of  the  flower  made 
it  e.specially  fit  for  the  .severe  simplicity  of  the  cha- 
no-yu  room,  and  for  the  freshne.ss  of  those  e;irly  morn- 
ing meetings. 

They  .say  that  a famous  general  heard  of  Rikyu’s 
wonderful  morning-glories,  so  one  day  he  called  to  see 
them.  Rut  though  there  were  morning-glories  in  the 
garden,  the  general  .saw  none  that  struck  him  as  })ar- 
tieularly  remarkable  till  he  entered  the  tea-room  and 
beheld  Rikyu’s  favorite  arrangement — one  flower  and 
one  leaf.  Seen  thus  apart,  the  color  seemed  purer, 
fresher  and  lovelier  than  any  other.  lie  gazed  de- 
lighted, e.xclaiming,  “Xow  I understand.” 

Double  a.sagao  are  the  most  highly  prized  varieties, 
chiefly,  no  doubt,  because  they  are  exce.ssively  difficult 
to  propagate ; the  initiated  di.stinguish  tour  main 
types,  going  off  into  varieties  pa.st  the  knowledge  of 
any  but  the  learned.  The  a.sagao  is  a great  favorite 
with  poets  and  arti.sts,  the  mo.st  famous  verse  of  all 
being  one  eomjx)sed  by  a young  girl  who  went  to  her 
well,  and,  finding  a morning-glory  had  twined  about 
the  rope,  rather  than  disturb  the  flower,  begged  water 


264 


JAPAN. 


from  her  neighbor  In  a dainty  poem  of  the  regulation 
thirty-one  syllables : 

“ Asagao  ni 
Tsurube  torarete 
Moraiye  midzu.” 


Which  is  to  say,  alas,  far  less  gracefully: 

“ By  asagao 

Is  my  bucket  filched  away — 

Water  give,  I pray.” 

Aston  quotes  another  equally  characteristic  poem  of 
the  didactic  sort : 

“ Oh  for  the  heart 
Of  the  morning-glory, 

Which,  though  its  bloom  is  for  a single  night. 

Is  the  same  as  that  of  the  fir  tree 
Which  lives  a thousand  years.” 

Aston  adds  a commentary  on  the  poem  from  Kiuso, 
the  eighteenth  century  philosopher  : 

“ Living  for  a day,  let  us  fulfill  the  Way  for  that 
day  and  die ; living  for  a month,  let  us  fulfill  the  AVay 
for  that  month  and  die ; living  for  a year,  let  us  fulfill 
the  Way  for  that  year  and  die.  If  ve  do  so,  there 
will  not  be  an  atom  of  regret,  even  if  we  die  in  the 
evening  after  having  learned  the  Way  in  the  morning.” 
The  seventh  of  the  seventh  month  is  kept  as  the  tana- 
hata  festival.  In  that  month,  according  to  Japanese 
mythology,  the  goddesses  wash  their  garments  in  the 


FETES  AND  FLOWERS. 


265 


Milky  Way,  whicli  is  the  River  of  Heaven,  Ama-iio- 
gawa.  At  that  time  all  the  younger  members  of  the 
family  write  something  on  a slip  of  fancy  paper,  and 
tie  them  to  a branch  of  bamboo ; the  branch  so  laden 
is  called  tanabata,  and  it  is  fastened  to  the  house-top 
or  in  the  garden  for  the  first  seven  days  of  July.  On 
the  evening  of  the  seventh  the  tanabata  is  thrown  into 
the  nearest  river,  and  the  popular  belief  is  that  it  will 
float  away  till  it  reaches  the  River  of  Heaven,  when 
the  heavenly  goddesses  may  pick  it  up  and  read  it. 
If  they  are  pleased,  they  will  reward  the  writer  by 
causing  his  or  her  penmanship  to  improve — sometliing 
the  boys  and  maidens  are  very  ambitious  to  attain. 

Rut  the  great  feast  of  Jidy  is  the  Festival  of  the 
Dead.  Back  in  tlie  country  they  still  keep  to  the  old 
calendar  for  these  religious  feasts,  but  everywhere  that 
the  railroads  have  gone  the  spirits  must  return  for 
their  welcome  in  the  new  month. 

The  origin  of  the  festival  is  said  to  be  this : Among 
the  disciples  of  Shaka  was  a certain  very  holy  man, 
who  became  possessed  of  supernatural  j)owers,  so  that 
he  coidd  gaze  into  the  lower  regions  and  see  what  was 
happening  there.  To  his  horror,  he  beheld  his  own 
mother,  condemned  for  her  sins  to  suffer  perpetual 
hunger.  The  son  instantly  offered  her  a bowlful  of 
rice,  and  the  hungry  spirit  turned  eagerly  to  it,  but  .as 
she  tried  to  eat,  the  food  beciime  burning  coals.  In 
deep  distress,  the  son  cast  himself  before  the  merciful 
Buddha,  and  implored  his  help.  And  the  merciful 


266 


JAPAN. 


Buddha  told  him,  “ Get  together  the  priests  from  all 
the  ten  directions,  and  cause  them  to  read  jjrayers  for 
thee  and  for  thy  ancestors  to  the  .seventh  generation. 
Then,  when  thou  hast  set  a bountiful  repast  before  the 
j)riests,  the  condemned  among  thy  ancestors  shall  l)e 
able  to  partake  of  thy  offerings.” 

With  the  Buddhist  priests,  therefore,  the  14th,  15th 
and  16th  of  July  are  observed  as  a time  of  special 
])i-aycr  and  meditation,  followed  by  a magnificent  .ser- 
vice on  behalf  of  the  hungry  spirits. 

With  most  jwople,  however,  it  is  rather  the  .sense  of 
the  return  of  the  spirits,  the  welcome  that  mu.st  be  set 
for  them  on  their  brief  visit,  that  makes  the  e.ssential 
quality  of  the  feast.  The  ihai  ai’e  given  a special 
stand,  hung  with  bamboo  and  bright  berries  till  it  is 
like  a bower,  and  lanterns  are  placed  by  the  road  and 
incense  sticks  burned,  that  the  returning  souls  may  not 
miss  the  way.  In  country  places  still,  a tub  of  water 
is  set  by  the  house,  and  toy  horses  and  oxen,  made  of 
egg-plants  and  cucumbers,  are  placed  there  for  the 
spirits  to  use  on  the  journey.  But  the  straw  boats  set 
on  fire  are  not  often  seen  now,  for  the  government  has 
forbidden  the  practice  on  account  of  the  danger  to 
shipping,  though  it  is  winked  at  sometimes,  they  say, 
in  out-of-the-way  places  on  the  coast. 

In  the  country,  too,  they  still  dance  the  Bon-odori, 
the  special  dance  of  Bon.  Men  and  women,  young 
and  old,  all  dress  up  in  fanciful  garments  and  dance  in 
line,  winding,  doubling,  like  a game  of  “Follow  my 


FETES  AND  FLOWERS. 


267 


leader,”  with  fantastic  waving  of  arms  and  clapping 
of  hands.  They  say  it  is  symbolic  of  the  joy  of  the 
rescued  spirits. 

On  the  night  of  the  16th,  wlien  the  spirits  go  back 
over  tlie  sea,  it  is  not  good  to  be  abroad  upon 
the  water;  for  the  sea  is  troubled  with  strange 
currents,  and  (piivering  through  it  are  countless 
})alc  lights — the  glimmering  lamps  of  the  departing 
ghosts. 

The  fifteenth  night  of  the  August  moon  is  devoted 
by  the  literary  to  a moon-gazing  fca.st,  wherein  to  watch 
()  Tsid<i  Sama  rising  over  .some  mountain  or  reflected 
in  a .still  lake;  offering  to  her  rice  dumplings  and 
bouquets  of  Suzuki  grass,  and  repeating  or  composing 
ver.se.s.  Tlicre  is  a delightful  tale  of  a celebrated  poet 
who  was  in  the  habit  of  wandering  about  the  country 
cultiv'ating  his  art  by  poetic  contests,  and  who  came 
one  evening  on  a party  of  rustics  engaged  in  one  of 
the.se  moonlight  fea.sts ; they  dragged  him  into  their 
midst  in  spite  of  protests  of  ignorance,  and  bade  him 
compose  instanter  a haikai  on  the  full  moon.  The 
poet,  who  ha])pened  to  have  invented  that  particular 
form  of  verse,  with  many  grimaces,  slowly  begins, 
“ ’Twas  the  new  moon.” 

Howls  of  glee  from  the  audience.  “The  new  moon  ! 
Hut  it  is  to  be  the  full.  Xo,  listen  : ” 


’Twa.s  the  new  moon  ; 
Since  then  I waited, 
And  lo — To-night!” 


268 


JAPAN. 


The  thing  is  perfect ; tlie  scoffers  bow  to  the  earth, 
and  learn  that  the  simple  guest  is  no  other  than  Basho, 
most  renowned  of  verse-makers.* 

This  moon  festival  really  belonged  to  September,  the 
time  of  the  harvest  moon,  as  we  call  it ; but  the  new 
calendar  has  pushed  it  back,  leaving  September  rather 
bare  of  festivities.  Artists  paint  for  it  the  “ Seven 
flowers  of  autumn,”  or  a part  of  them,  epecially  the 
Suzuki  grass  and  the  pretty  purple  lespedesa.  At  this 
season  the  women  are  busy  bleaching  and  fulling  their 
homespun  cloth,  pounding  it  with  wooden  mallets,  or 
dipping  and  wringing  and  sjireading  it  on  the  bank 
beside  the  river.  The  graceful  postures,  the  sleeves 
tied  back  by  the  bright  iatsuld,  and  blue  and  white 
kerchief  over  the  hair,  make  one  flel  as  if  some  of 
Hokusai’s  sketches  in  the  “ Occupations  of  Women  ” 
had  come  to  life  again. 

October  also  is  a dull  month,  when  there  is  little 
doing  at  the  temples,  because  all  the  gods  are  supposed 
to  be  off  visiting  the  gods  of  Idzumo.  Conservative 
people  would  not  think  of  undertaking  a wedding  or 
betrothal  or  any  important  affair  during  this  month. 
On  the  other  hand,  Idzumo  is  over-well  provided  with 
divinities,  and  they  say  many  farmers  in  the  province 
still  lock  their  doors  at  sunset,  and  on  no  account  ven- 
ture out  before  dawn,  lest  the  gods  should  feel  them- 
selves spied  upon  and  insulted. 

The  Idzumo  people  keep  a strange  holiday  con- 
* Aston  : “ Japanese  Literature.” 


FETES  AND  FLOWERS. 


269 


nected  with  this  visit  of  the  gods,  which  is  called  the 
Laughing  Festival.  They  say  the  origin  of  it  is  that 
the  first  time  the  gods  came  together  for  the  yearly 
reunion,  one  of  the  divinities  made  a mistake  in  the 
date,  and  did  not  arrive  till  just  as  everything  was 
over ; whereat  the  rest  laughed  at  him  unmercifully. 
Tlierefore,  in  memory  of  the  gods’  merriment,  all  the 
villagers  assemble  once  a year,  and  all  the  old  men 
and  all  the  children  march  in  procession,  the  men  first, 
carrying  two  boxes  of  oranges  and  persimmons  rim  on 
bamboo  sticks,  and  then  the  children,  carrying  in  their 
hands  oranges  and  persimmons  spitted  in  the  same 
way ; one  bears  a large  paper  gohei.  With  decorous 
solemnity  they  march  to  the  temple,  and  when  they 
reach  it,  the  olde.st  man  turns  round,  and  facing  the 
children  groujied  about  the  gohei,  he  orders  them  to 
laugh — and  is  promptly  obeyed.  The  spectators  join 
in  the  merriment,  and  everybody  spends  the  rest  of 
the  dav  in  feasting  and  laughter. 

Ihit  whatever  Octolier  may  lack,  November  makes 
up  for  by  harvest  thanksgivings  and  chry.santhemums 
and  maples.  It  has  kept  tlie  old  festival  of  the  ninth 
of  the  ninth  month,  when,  from  the  days  of  the 
Emperor  Uda  until  now,  it  has  been  the  custom  to 
hold  garden  parties  at  the  Court  and  elsewhere,  to 
view  the  chrysanthemums  and  drink  wine  and  make 
verses.  By  great  good  luck  the  Emperor’s  birthday 
falls  on  the  5th  of  November,  wlien  the  clirysanthe- 
inums  are  at  their  height,  for,  as  every  one  knows. 


270 


JAPAN, 


kiku  is  the  imperial  flower,  as  kiri,  tlie  purple  Paulonia, 
belongs  to  the  Empress.  We  are  so  u.sed  to  identify- 
ing chrysanthemums  with  Japan,  that  it  is  rather  a 
shock  to  find  they  are  not  native,  after  all,  but  one  of 
the  many  borrowings  from  China,  though,  as  usual, 
the  loan  has  been  improved  upon  by  the  borrowers. 
The  Emperor’s  cre.st  is  a sixteen-petaled  chrysanthe- 
mum, curiously  like  an  Egyptian  lotus-rosette — so 
like,  indeed,  that  one  wonders  if  it  can  be  pure  coinci- 
dence, and  whether  they  had  not  both,  perhaps,  a far 
older  prototype  somewhere  back  in  the  unknown 
heart  of  Asia. 

Such  beautiful  chry.santhemums  are  raised  now  in 
America  that  people  are  sometimes  di.sappointed  not 
to  And  anything  much  more  wonderful  than  they  have 
seen  before.  The  truth  is,  you  very  seldom  .see  finer 
specimens  in  Japan  than  in  American  hot-liou.-^es ; the 
charm  and  the  wonder  is  in  the  abundance  of  them, 
in  the  beauty  and  perfection  of  hundreds  of  plants 
together  at  an  ordinaiy  en-nichi  on  the  streets  at  night, 
and  the  bundles  of  great  stalks  piled  uj)  in  the  flower 
sho])s;  all  of  which  give  a pleasing  sense  of  beauty, 
lavished  without  stint — somewhat,  perhaps,  like  the 
delight  of  California  roses  in  mid-winter.  Exceed- 
ingly beautiful  jflants  are  grown  in  the  Emperor’s 
garden,  and  now  and  then  an  imperial  garden  party 
gives  favored  ones  a chance  to  enjoy  them.  Count 
Okuma,  too,  is  a great  chrysanthemum  lover,  and 
raises  many  new  varieties  at  his  beautiful  half-Eng- 


FETES  AND  FLOWERS. 


271 


lish  park,  Waseda.  It  is  pleasant  to  hear  that  the 
garden  and  green-liouses  escaped  the  fire  which  lately 
destroyed  the  Count’s  residence.  Most  of  the  plants 
are  grown  out  of  doors,  sheltered  from  wind  and  too 
much  sun  or  rain  by  a light  bamboo  shed,  just  as 
peonies  and  morning-glory  are  protected. 

The  most  famous  chry.sauthemum  show,  and  cer- 
tainly the  oddest  that  could  be  imagined,  is  at  Dango- 
zaka,  over  toward  Asakusa  temple.  The  place  is  a 
rather  steep  street,  full  of  the  usual  stands  for  cakes 
and  toys — delectable  little  owls,  made  of  suzuki  grass, 
are  a specialty — among  which,  on  either  side  of  the 
street,  stand  a succe.ssion  of  big  sheds,  rather  suggest- 
ive of  circus  tents,  which  you  enter  for  a fee  of  a few 
sen  to  behold  the  show.  It  has  nothing  whatever  to  do 
with  fine  plants,  though  there  are  a few  very  beautiful 
ones,  as  it  were  incidentally  ; the  real  exhibition  is  a 
collection  of  life-sized  figure's,  the  heads  and  hands 
made  of  ■papier  rnache,  and  the  rc.st,  gorgeous  robes 
and  armor  and  all,  entirely  e-omposed  of  little  reel  and 
white  ami  yellow  chrysanthemums — not  cut  flowcns, 
but  growing,  on  fine  wire  frames,  into  which  the 
stems  have  been  carefully  twisted,  the  flowers  all  on 
top  and  the  leav’es  undeiTieath.  The  figures  represent 
historical  event.s,  or  scenes  from  some  drama ; war- 
riors and  ladies  in  the  ancient  costumes  and  “.stained- 
glass  attitudes  ” of  the  theatre.  Each  platform  is  .set 
like  a stage  and  revolves,  as  in  the  Japanese  theatre, 
to  bring  on  new  situations;  while,  from  time  to  time. 


272 


JAPAN. 


ghosts  and  supernatural  beings  rise  slowly  through 
the  floor,  and  disappear  and  rise  again,  with  mournful 
groanings  of  machinery.  Even  recent  events  are 
depicted;  scenes  from  the  war,  or  some  great  earth- 
quake or  other  catastrophe,  such  as  the  awful  tidal 
wave  of  1896,  which  was  displayed  at  Dangosaka  in 
the  act  of  curling  over  a village  in  a foaming  ma&s  of 
green  leaves  and  white  petals.  The  crashing  cot- 
tages and  tossing  limbs  were  quite  too  realistic  to  be 
pleasant.  The  ferocious,  stagey  Ronin  are  much 
better,  or  a poet  rhapsodizing  beside  a flowery  water- 
fall. It  is  all  more  curious  than  beautiful,  but  the 
skill  and  pains  that  can  make  things  grow  and  bloom 
at  such  angles  seem  truly  marvelous. 

In  Tokyo  there  is  a very  popular  matsuri,  held  at  a 
certain  temple  on  the  “ Days  of  the  Bird,”  in  Novem- 
ber. (The  days  of  the  Japanese  month  are  called  after 
twelve  beasts  and  birds,  namely,  the  rat,  ox,  tiger, 
rabbit,  dragon,  snake,  horse,  sheep,  monkey,  cock, 
dog  and  bear ; if  the  first  day  of  the  month  happens 
to  fall  on  “ snake,”  the  fourth  will  be  on  “ monkey,” 
and  so  ou.)  The  Temple  of  the  Bird  (he  is  an  eagle) 
is  in  the  part  of  Tokyo  called  Shitaya,  not  far  from 
Asakusa  and  its  entertainments ; it  is  not  a very  ele- 
gant quarter,  but  thousands  of  people  flock  there  in 
November,  mostly  peasants  and  mechanics  and  small 
tradespeople,  to  pray  at  the  shrine  and  buy  the 
charms,  which  they  think  will  bring  good  luck  for  the 
year.  There  are  three  things : potatoes  ready  to 


FETES  AND  FLOWEKS. 


273 


sprout,  token  of  humble  ambition,  buried  yet  grow- 
ing; millet  dutnplings,  the  name  of  Avhich  means  to 
hold,  and  hence  means  that  you  will  keep  what  you 
get ; and,  most  important  of  all,  a small  toy  rake 
with  curv’ed  teeth,  such  as  is  used  to  gather  up  stalks 
of  grain  lying  in  the  field ; a head  of  rice  is  tied 
across  the  teeth,  and  a little  square  rice  measure  and  a 
tiny  piece  of  gold  leaf  is  pasted  on.  All  along  the 
street  leading  to  the  temple  there  are  rows  of  booths 
for  the  sale  of  these  things,  and,  many  as  they  are, 
they  must  do  a fine  business,  for  custom  forbids  bar- 
gaining for  the  charms,  lest  the  luck  should  be  spoiled. 

There  are  few  amusements  for  December,  and  no 
flowers ; if  there  were,  nobody  would  have  time  to 
see  them,  every  one  is  so  busy  getting  ready  for  the 
New  Year.  In  every  house  there  is  the  sound  of 
pounding  mochi — the  sticky  rice  cakes — a dainty  as 
indispensable  and  almost  as  deadly  as  Christmas  can- 
dies ; the  men  are  settling  all  their  affairs,  that  no  debt 
may  be  left  unpaid,  and  merchants  often  stay  up  till 
daybreak  on  the  last  night  of  the  year;  while  the 
women  are  in  the  midst  of  a frantic  bout  of  house- 
cleaning, for  every  tatami — mat — must  be  taken  up, 
aired,  beaten,  or  renewed ; the  floors  and  every  par- 
ticle of  the  woodwork  scrubbed,  clothes  brushed, 
broken  screens  recovered,  bedding  aired  or  made  over 
— in  a word,  every  cranny  set  in  the  most  immaculate 
order,  that  no  evil  thing  may  have  excuse  to  linger. 
On  New  Year’s  Day,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  no 
VoL.  II.— 18 


274 


JAPAN. 


sweeping  or  dusting,  for  fear  of  sweeping  out  the 
“ new  atmosphere.’’  As  a last  purification  of  all,  on 
New  Year’s  Eve,  the  old-fashioned  country  dame  was 
wont  to  fling  out  a handful  of  dried  peas,  in  token  of 
turning  out  last  year’s  evil  spirits — just  as  she  is  doing 
in  one  of  Hokusai’s  inimitable  sketches.  A few  days 
earlier,  Tokyo  is  hazy  with  the  smoke  of  bonfires 
burning  up  old  worn-out  things,  such  as  shoes  and 
brooms  and  household  gear,  replaced  perhaps  at  one 
of  the  fairs  held  through  the  month  in  different  parts 
of  the  city. 

All  the  last  days,  every  corner  fairly  bubbles  with 
excitement ; up  and  down  the  streets  people  are  sell- 
ing the  needful  decorations — straw  ropes,  either  inch- 
thick  strands  and  tassels  and  the  knot  which  mast  go 
over  every  door,  or  mere  cords  with  dangling  straws 
attached ; all  these  are  to  put  across  the  doorways,  in 
memory  of  the  rope  with  which  the  young  god  Susa- 
no-o  closed  the  cave,  that  his  Sun  Goddess  sister 
might  not  again  hide  herself  from  the  earth ; and, 
incidentally,  these  ropes  are  believed  to  keep  out  evil 
spirits,  which  roam  about  at  this  time  looking  out  for 
a residence.  With  the  straw  decorations  are  hung 
strips  of  paper,  cut  in  a peculiar  way,  and  a few  fern 
leaves,  an  orange,  and  a boiled  lobster.  This  last  is 
said  to  be  a symbol  of  living  till  the  back  is  bent 
with  age,  like  the  fish’s.  Platforms  for  semi-sacred 
dances  are  set  up  beside  the  street  in  many  places,  and 
exorcists  go  about  from  house  to  house — usually  a 


FETES  AND  FLOWERS. 


275 


man,  conducting  two  or  three  little  boys  in  huge  gro- 
tesque masks,  who  posture  and  tumble  and  turn  hand- 
springs, to  the  monotonous  thumping  of  a drum ; the 
whole  being  a purifying  rite,  and  probably  a very 
ancient  one. 

All  the  first  days  of  the  year,  too,  girls  and  women 
go  about  in  pairs,  under  big  pointed  straw  hats,  twang- 
ing the  samisen  and  singing  charms ; they  are  called 
tori-oi  (bird  chasers),  and  they  are  supposed  to  drive 
away  those  evil  spirits  which  are  flying  about  iu  the 
form  of  birds. 

Under  the  eaves  of  the  Gion  temple  in  Kyoto  a 
small  lamp  burns  night  and  day.  On  the  la.st  evening 
of  the  old  year  people  come  to  the  temple  and  light 
tapers  at  this  year-old  flame,  with  which  to  kindle  the 
little  light  burning  before  the  god-shelf  in  eaeh  house. 
Two  hours  after  midnight,  at  the  “hour  of  the  tiger,” 
the  jiriests  rekindle  the  lamp  from  a fresh  fire;  this  is 
called  the  rite  of  pine  shavings.  A priest  roads  the 
ritual,  and  meantime  other  priests  rub  together  two 
pieces  of  wood,  kindling  a spark  upon  the  ])ine  shav- 
ings in  a large  iron  lamp.  From  this  they  light  the 
small  lamp  under  the  cave.s,  and  the  charred  fragments 
of  the  i)ine  are  sold  to  the  worshipers  as  charms 
against  disease. 

About  the  28th  of  December  carts  of  green  begin 
to  arrive  from  the  eonntry,  and  the  prettiest  act  of  all 
begins — the  setting  up  of  a bit  of  pine  and  fresh 
bamboo  at  every  house,  emblems  of  long  life  and 


27G 


JAPAN. 


happiness  through  the  year.  Some  can  only  afford  a 
sprig,  others  plant  a thick,  short  pine  on  either  side, 
and  with  it  three  green  stems  of  large  bamboo,  cut 
off  at  different  lengths ; by  others  again — and  this  is 
prettiest,  as  well  as  commonest — the  long  stalk  is  left 
uncut,  and  the  slender  green  feather  of  foliage  waves 
far  above  the  low  roofs.  By  New  Year’s  morning 
the  leaves  dry  from  green  to  an  exquisite  silvery 
shade,  and  among  them  are  flags  innumerable — the 
Avhite  national  flag  that  bears  a red  ball  for  the  rising 
sun.  Down  each  street,  under  the  silver}'-green  arch, 
little  girls  are  playing  ball,  and  young  and  old  batting 
shuttlecocks,  the  hard  little  seed  keeping  up  a con- 
tinual tap-tapping  against  the  gaily-decorated  wooden 
battledores ; the  burr  of  kites  fills  the  air,  and  the 
jinrikisha  men  dodge  frantically  among  the  humming 
strings.  All  the  men  are  paying  calls;  high  func- 
tionaries dash  past  in  their  carriages,  passing  petty 
officials,  stiff  and  unhappy  in  tight  frock  coats  and 
silk  hats,  that  see  the  light  but  once  a year,  and  seem 
to  date — some  of  them  at  least — from  the  earliest 
years  of  ]\Ieiji.  Then  there  are  stately  old  gentlemen 
in  beautifnl  silks,  and  family  parties — first  the  master 
of  the  house,  then  the  daughter-in-law  with  her 
mother-in-law,  a son  proud  of  military  blue  and  cadet 
cap,  and  the  little  girls,  riding  two  and  two,  awe-struck 
in  their  best  crepes,  and  afraid  to  smile  for  fear  of 
cracking  the  powder  on  their  faces.  The  children 
cari7  willow  wands,  on  which  hang  many-colored 


FETES  AND  FLOWEES. 


277 


objects  made  of  dried  mochi  paste,  such  as  a fish,  a 
clam,  round  cakes  marked  with  lucky  characters,  and 
a mask  of  O Kami  San,  round-cheeked  and  smiling — 
she  who  danced  to  lure  the  Sun  Goddess  from  her 
cave. 

Indoors,  just  within  the  vestibule,  lies  a pile  of 
three  big,  round  mochi  cakes  on  a little  square  stand 
covered  with  wliite  paper ; these  represent  the  mirror 
with  which  Susa-no-o  coaxed  his  sister  from  the  cave. 
The  cakes  are  decorated  with  the  same  symbols  of 
luck  and  plenty  as  are  over  the  door,  the  fern  leaves 
and  seaweed,  a twig  of  pine,  an  orange  and  some  dried 
persimmons,  and  a lobster.  People  who  cannot  alford 
a real  ebi  can  buy  a red  plaster  copy,  which  does  to 
bring  the  luck. 

Mrs.  I wamoto — whose  charming  essays  should  be 
better  known — thus  deseribes  Xew  Year’s  mornins  in 
a modern  Tokyo  household  : 

“The  children  come  in  smiling,  in  holiday  attire, 
and  they  notice  that  father,  in  haori  and  hakama  (a 
costume  answering  to  your  evening  dress),  is  sitting  at 
the  place  of  honor,  with  his  back  to  the  tokonoma 
(alcove)  in  the  guest  room,  where  the  feast  is  spread 
on  this  particular  morning.  The  mother  sits  next  to 
him,  and  the  rest  of  the  family  all  know  their  places 
by  the  names  on  the  paper  chop-stick  cases,  all  so  new 
and  white.  . . . M hen  all  are  seated  the  mother  greets 
the  father,  saying  ‘ Oniedeto  gosarim<i.su  ’ — i.  e.,  ‘ I 
present  you  my  congratulations.’  The  greeting  is  re- 


turned,  and  the  children,  beginning  at  the  eldest,  all 
do  the  same  to  father  and  mother,  and  to  each  other. 
After  this  the  servants  come  in  and  present  their  con- 
gratulations to  the  family. 

“ Then  it  is  the  custom  for  the  family  and  servants 
all  to  take  a sip  of  a certain  spiced  sweet  wine  called 
toso  from  three  dainty  laccpiered  cups  arranged  on  top 
of  each  other;  but  iu  Christian  homes,  and  where 
temperance  is  emphasized,  this  is  omitted  ; so  we  hail 
the  zoni,  or  soup  with  mochi  iu  it,  and  prepare  to 
enjoy  our  chief  New  Year  dish.  While  the  children 
plunge  their  rather  clumsy  new  chop-sticks  into  the 
soft  pieces  of  mochi,  mother  takes  the  side  dish  and 
takes  out  a little  of  the  ‘ three  things  ’ prepared  for 
the  family  in  three  lacquer  boxes  fitting  on  top  of  each 
other ; these  are  not  so  much  of  a delicacy  as  ‘ good 
omened  ’ food  ; first  mame,  boiled  black  beans,  the 
name  having  tlie  same  sound  as  the  adjective  mame, 
healthful ; then  kazunoko,  a kind  of  roe  steeped  in 
sauce,  emblematic  of  multiplicity  and  prosperity  ; and 
gomane,  small  dried  sardines,  for  good  luck.  Other 
delicacies  are  served  up,  but  all  must  have  the  above 
dish.  . . . But  the  boys’  sharp  ears  catch  the  growl 
of  the  kites,  and  they  begin  to  get  fidgetty,  and  the 
girls,  too,  are  eager  for  a game  with  their  new  battle- 
dores and  shuttlecocks,  so  they  are  all  excused  to  enjoy 
themselves  to  their  heart’s  content  on  this  day  of  all 
davs,  while  the  father  hastens  to  his  New  Year  calls  and 
tlie  mother  prepares  to  entertain  the  visitors  at  home.” 


FETES  AND  FLOWERS. 


279 


Indeed,  the  mother’s  day  will  be  a very  busy  one, 
for  every  caller  must  have  food  offered,  and  wine  or 
tea.  In  non-Christian  houses  special  offerings  of 
dainties  are  made  before  the  ihai,  name-tablets  of  the 
ancestors  on  the  god-shelf,  and  in  the  poorest  cottage 
the  vase  in  the  tokonoraa  holds  a sprig  of  pine  and  a 
budding  plum  branch,  before  the  traditional  New  Year 
kakemono,  which  is  always  a red-headed  stork  flying 
or  sitting  on  a pine  tree,  always  acro.ss  a red  rising 
sun. 

For,  of  course,  it  is  really  a sun-fea.st,  a rejoicing 
over  the  return  of  spring,  like  all  the  rest  from  Osiris 
down  ; and  it  has  a myth  of  the  sun’s  hiding  as  naively 
grote.scpie  as  any  German  Ldc  of  kobolds.  Tlius  it 
runs  : One  day  as  Amaterasu,  the  Sun  Goddess,  sat 
spinning  among  her  maiden-s,  her  riotous  brother  Susa- 
no-o,  the  god  of  clouds  and  wind,  })layfully  flung 
through  the  roof  the  bloody  skin  of  a newly-killed 
horse.  Ilis  sister  found  it  a sorry  jest ; in  fright  and 
wrath  she  hid  herself  in  a cave,  and  all  the  world 
grew  dark  and  cold ; but  .she  would  not  return,  though 
all  the  gods  besought  her.  At  la.st  a giddy  young 
goddess  bade  the  rest  bring  a tub  and  turn  it  upside 
down,  and  she  dressed  herself  splendidly  and  sang 
and  danced  on  the  tub  with  such  comic  gestures  that 
all  the  gods  laughed  and  applauded,  and  Amaterasu 
could  not  help  pee])ing  out  to  see  what  the  fun  could 
be.  Then  her  brother  cried,  “ Here  is  one  far  lovelier 
than  Amaterasu !”  and  he  thrust  a mirror  before  the 


280 


JAPAN. 


crack,  so  that  she  saw  her  own  beaming  face ; whereat 
slie  was  so  astonished  that  she  opened  the  door  a little 
widei’,  and  her  brother  drew  her  out  and  clapped  the 
door  to  behind  her,  and  made  it  fast  forever,  hanging 
straw  ropes  across,  and  Amaterasu  hid  her  face  no 
more. 

Therefore  henceforth  men  hang  the  knots  of  twisted 
straw,  and  dance  the  sacred  dances,  and  feast  and  keep 
a three  days’  holiday  at  O Sho  Gatsu,  the  August 
New  y^ear. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


NARA. 

Nara  stands  to  Kyoto  somewhat  as  Canterbury 
does  to  London,  in  that  it  Avas  the  capital  in  an  early 
romantic  period,  and  kept  its  religious  prestige  long 
after  the  Court  had  departed.  The  “ Kara  period  ” is 
a sort  of  Age  of  Charlemagne — a heroic,  brilliant 
period,  Avhen  art  was  young  and  literature  flourislied, 
and  the  Court  led  the  way  in  all ; when  the  Emperor 
was  the  actual  and  not  the  nominal  ruler,  and  when 
women  had  a j)osition  and  freedom  that  later  Chinese 
influences  stole  quite  aAvay. 

In  the  beginning,  when  an  Emperor  died,  it  was 
the  custom  to  move  the  capital  to  a new  city,  much  as 
some  primitive  peoples  desert  a hut  in  which  there 
has  been  a death.  By  really  historic  times — say  500 
A.D. — changes  Avere  made  less  frequently,  but  always, 
so  far,  Avithin  the  boundaries  of  Yamato,  the  sacred 
province  first  ruled  OA'er  by  the  Divine  Ancestors — 
Avhich,  Avhen  divested  of  mythology,  doubtless  means 
the  first  region  settled  by  in-coming  Avav’es  of  migra- 
tion. But  Nara  AA’as  the  first  capital  that  can  fairly 
be  called  permanent,  its  period  of  occupation  being 

281 


282 


JAPAN. 


nearly  a hundred  years,  coinciding  almost  exactly 
with  the  eighth  century ; and  the  fact  that  it  was  so 
long  occupied  of  itself  marks  an  advance  in  the  sta- 
bility of  the  government. 

It  was  an  Empress,  Gemmyo,  who  first  chose  Xara 
as  a residence.  She  was  one  of  the  three  or  four 
Emjjresses  who  ruled  during  the  seventh  and  eighth 
centuries,  and  she  seems  to  have  been  an  able  and 
energetic  lady,  who  “enjoyed  the  confidence  and 
alfection  of  all,”  as  one  chronicle  declares.  By  her 
time  Buddhism  had  become  firmly  established — indeed 
it  may  be  considered  to  have  been  so  for  two  or  three 
generations  previously,  along  with  Chinese  and  Korean 
arts  and  civilization  generally ; a Code  based  on  the 
laws  of  the  Tang  dynasty  had  been  promulgated 
shortly  before,  and  the  Court  remodeled  on  Chinese 
lines,  while  art  had  passed  the  stage  of  mere  imita- 
tion and  was  beginning  to  create  in  its  own  way. 
Scholars  studied  the  Chinese  classics,  sometimes  jour- 
neying to  China  for  the  purpose ; Korean  teachers, 
artists  and  workmen  were  encouraged  to  settle  in  the 
country,  and  many  did  do  so  at  this  time,  as  well  as 
before  and  after. 

It  is  generally  acknowledged  that  a large  share  of 
the  credit  for  the  rapid  advance  in  development 
during  this  period  belongs  to  the  Buddhist  priests ; 
and  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  spread  both 
of  art  and  science — as  the  age  understood  science — 
was  the  direct  consequence  of  their  labors.  Many  of 


NAEA. 


2S3 


the  priests,  after  their  journeys  to  China,  traveled  up 
and  down  Japan,  building  temples,  making  or  extend- 
ing roads,  putting  up  bridges,  digging  wells  and 
storage  ponds  and  irrigation  canals ; in  a word,  open- 
ing np  barren  country  aud  contributing  to  the  material 
prosperity  of  the  people  almost  as  much  as  to  their 
moral  welfare.  The  increasing  size  of  the  temples 
called  for  improvement  in  carpenter’s  work ; and  the 
demand  for  images  and  sacred  books  and  pictures, 
and  temple  hangings,  vases  and  other  sacerdotal  furni- 
ture, provided  just  the  impetus  that  was  needed  for 
the  development  of  a national  art. 

Here,  too,  at  Xara,  early  in  the  eighth  century,  the 
first  authentic  book  was  compiled,  the  Kojiki,  which 
was  a history  of  the  creation  and  the  Age  of  the  Go<]s, 
and  of  all  that  followed,  down  to  the  reign  of  the 
Empress  Suiko,  who  lived  about  a centur}'  before  the 
founding  of  Xara,  and  who  issued  rescripts  on  several 
occasions  encouraging  the  spreiid  of  Buddhism.  The 
Nihongi,  a second  authorized  history,  was  published  a 
little  later  than  the  Kojiki,  and  a collection  of  all 
known  poetry,  called  the  Manyoshiu,  was  compiled  a 
few  years  later  still.  There  are  traditions  alx)ut  other 
books,  said  to  have  been  written  before  the  Kojiki, 
and  to  have  been  j)art  of  the  source  from  which  its 
records  were  drawn ; but  all  of  these  were  lost,  and  it 
is  probably  because  printing  was  introduced  from 
China  about  the  close  of  the  Nara  period  that  these 
three  works  have  been  preserved. 


284 


JAPAN. 


One  of  the  earliest  Nara  Emperors  established  a 
university  at  the  capital  for  the  study  of  the  “ Four 
Paths  of  Learning,”  which  were  history,  Chinese 
classics,  law  and  mathematics.  Its  object  was  the 
training  of  officials.  At  about  the  same  time  the 
kana  syllabary  was  invented  to  express  words  pho- 
netically, instead  of  entirely  by  ideographs,  as  in 
Chinese.  They  did  this  by  taking  Chinese  characters, 
shortening  them  down  to  a few  strokes,  and  using 
this  abbreviated  form  to  express  the  sound  that  the 
original  character  represented.  Thus  the  character 
for  the  word  ho,  which  originally  had  ten  strokes,  lost 
all  but  the  cross  and  two  dashes  which  made  its  lower 
right-hand  corner;  and  henceforth  it  stood  for  the 
syllable  ho,  without  regard  to  meaning.  Instead  of  a 
true  alphabet,  therefore,  Japan  has  forty-six  syllables, 
each  consisting  of  a consonant  and  a voAvel — ka,  ki, 
ku,  ke,  ko ; ra,  ri,  ru,  re,  ro,  and  so  on.  But  some 
syllables  are  Avantiug,  because  the  Japanese  cannot 
pronounce  them  ; and  others  have  the  consonant  modi- 
fied by  the  vowel  that  follows  it — ti,  for  instance,  be- 
coming chi,  and  tu,  tsu.  Later,  Kobo  Daishi  com- 
posed a verse  bringing  in  all  the  sounds  in  use,  and 
children  recite  this  as  we  do  the  alphabet ; it  is  called, 
after  its  first  three  syllables,  Troha.  But  Chinese 
characters  are  used  almost  universally  in  place  of  the 
kana,  the  character  being  used  Avhich  expresses  the 
right  meaning.  The  same  character  may  often  be 
pronounced  either  as  a Chinese  or  a Japanese  word;  the 


XARA.  285 

character  for  way,  for  instance,  may  be  read  either  as 
t6  or  michi. 

To  this  period,  too,  belongs  Prince  Shotoku,  priest 
and  statesman  ; and  Gyogi,  traditional  inventor  of  the 
potter’s  wheel ; and  Shodo  Shonin,  who  exorcised  the 
Nikko  demons.  Altogether  it  was  a stirring,  heroic 
age,  when  much  legend  was  in  the  making,  if  not  a 
great  deal  of  authentic  history. 

There  is  a curious  bit  of  mythological  story  told  in 
the  annals  as  to  the  way  some  elements  of  Korean 
civilization  got  to  Japan,  in  a time  supposed  to  be 
sliortly  after  the  Age  of  the  Gods.  A Korean  farmer, 
says  the  legend,  was  once  going  to  the  fields,  driving 
an  ox,  and  carrying  provisions  for  the  men  who  were 
working  there.  On  his  way  he  met  a great  lord,  who 
spoke  to  him  angrily,  and  accused  him  of  taking  the 
ox  in  order  to  kill  and  eat  it.  The  poor  man  vainly 
protested  his  innocence,  and  at  last,  to  appease  the 
nobleman,  gave  him  a shining  red  jewel  that  he  had 
hidden  in  his  girdle.  The  nobleman  took  it  and  carried 
it  home,  and  laid  it  by  his  couch. 

Now  the  jewel  was  not  really  a stone  at  all,  but  the 
daughter  of  the  sun  and  of  a beautiful  girl  whom  he 
fell  in  love  with  as  she  lay  sleeping  on  the  shore  of  a 
lake.  AVhen,  therefore,  the  noble  carried  her  home  to 
his  hou.se,  she  became  a woman,  and  the  noble  loved 
her,  and  made  her  his  wife.  But  after  a time  he  grew 
tired  of  her,  and  treated  her  rudely ; and  she  said  to 
him,  “ Now  I shall  go  away  to  my  home  in  Japan.” 


286 


JAPA>". 


But  he  thought  nothing  of  it.  But  while  he  slept,  she 
rose  up  and  took  a boat  and  fled  away  over  the  sea. 
Then  when  her  liusband  saw  that  she  was  indeed  gone, 
he  also  took  a boat  and  pursued  her;  but  a storm 
arose,  and  broke  his  ship,  and  cast  him  ashore  on  the 
coast  of  Japan.  Yet  he  saved  the  treasures  he  had 
brought  with  him  ; these  were  two  strings  of  jewels, 
a wave-shaking  scarf,  a wave-cutting  scarf,  a wind- 
shaking scarf,  the  mirror  of  the  sea  and  the  mirror  of 
the  shore.  Then  he  married  the  daughter  of  a Japan- 
ese lord,  and  stayed  in  that  place,  and  taught  the 
people  many  things. 

AVJieu  the  Court  departed,  Xara  at  least  gained  the 
safety  of  obscurity,  and  escaped  the  periodic  burnings 
which  overtook  Kyoto  in  the  feudal  wars;  and  this  is 
exceedingly  fortunate,  for  many  of  the  oldest  and  finest 
specimens  of  art  are  here  and  at  the  monastery  of 
Iloriiiji,  a few  miles  away.  iSIany  of  these  early  works 
are  not  Japanese  at  all,  but  Korean,  and  all  are  very 
Chinese  in  manner.  The  paintings  are  formal,  almost, 
as  a Byzantine  mosaic,  but  show  far  more  knowledge 
and  vigor ; the  bronzes  and  wooden  statues  are  especially 
broad  and  noble.  The  best  of  these  that  are  visible 
at  all  are  in  a museum  near  one  gate  of  the  Daibutsu 
temple,  where  there  is  an  exceedingly  interesting  collec- 
tion of  fine  lacquer,  embroidered  vestments,  pictures 
and  images.  Some  of  the  statues  are  portraits  of 
priests,  with  beautiful,  kindly  old  faces,  recalling  Fra 
Angelico’s  childlike  saints  at  San  Marco. 


KARA. 


287 


The  Daibutsu  is  marred  by  an  ugly  sixteenth  cen- 
tury head,  and  still  further  by  the  gilded  wooden  nim- 
bus set  up  behind  it,  and  the  bare,  ill-proportioned  hall 
in  which  it  stands.  It  is  rather  larger  than  the  Kama- 
kura Daibutsu,  and  only  the  lower  portion  dates  from 
the  eighth  century,  when  it  was  first  built ; the  other 
pails  are  restorations  made  after  fires  had  twice  de- 
stroyed the  temple  and  melted  the  head,  besides  doing 
other  injury  to  the  figure.  The  pose  is  graceful 
and  impressive;  less  utterly  still  than  the  Kama- 
kura figure,  it  is  yet  calm  and  benignant,  and  is 
worthy  of  much,  if  not  all,  of  the  praise  Gonse  be- 
stows on  it. 

A good  deal  of  the  legendary  mingles  with  its  his- 
tory. In  the  first  place  the  Emperor  Shomu,  who 
built  it,  seems  to  have  had  certain  miss-iviiiK  as  to 
whether  the  Shinto  Kami  would  a^iprove ; they  were 
his  ancestors  and  jirotectors,  and  he  wished  to  be  sure 
of  their  permission  before  making  images  of  strange 
gods.  The  energetic  Gyogi,  the  jiotter  priest,  was  sent 
on  pilgrimage  to  Ise,  and  returned  with  a reassuring 
dream  ; and  the  Emperor  began  the  work,  and  carried 
it  through  in  spite  of  many  discouragements.  It  is 
said  that  gold  was  discovered  in  Japan  just  in  time  to 
be  used  in  making  the  alloy;  and  many  other  wonder- 
ful things  happened. 

The  artistic  tradition  which  first  came  to  Japan  was 
the  Hindu  Buddhist  type  of  the  south  of  India,  modi- 
fied on  the  way  by  Chinese  and  Korean  influences ; 


288 


JAPAN. 


the  Chinese  share  being  all  in  the  direction  of  coldness 
and  restraint,  like  their  own  early  bronzes,  and  a sharp, 
thin  treatment  of  drapery  growing  out  of  their  love 
of  line — the  hard,  incisiv'e  line  of  Chinese  ideographs. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Koreans  thoroughly  understood 
potteiy  and  excelled  in  modeling,  and  Fenollosa  claims 
that  they  passed  on  “ Chinese  dignity  softened  by  a 
more  mellow  line.”  Of  this  type  are  the  Horiuji 
figures,  and  a carved  wooden  Buddha  attributed  to 
the  artist-jwiest  Prince  Shotoku,  also  some  fine  paint- 
ings at  Ploriuji  almost  certainly  done  by  Korean 
artists  ; all  of  these  being  about  a century  earlier  than 
the  Kara  epoch. 

Then  came  another  wave  of  influence,  what  is  known 
as  Graeco-Buddhistic  art  finding  its  way  from  the  north 
of  India  through  China,  and  so  to  Korea  and  Japan. 
Its  ancestor  was  the  Hellenistic  style  of  Persia  under 
the  Selucidae  and  the  Sassanid  reigns,  a style  which 
admitted  a great  deal  of  action,  not  to  .say  violence, 
along  with  much  grace.  Even  filtered  through  three 
Oriental  races,  it  kept  something  of  movement  and 
force,  with  many  Greek  architectural  details  used 
jnirelv  ornamentally ; indeed,  Gonse  cites  a bronze 
vase  in  the  Horiuji  collection  which  he  considers  to  be 
actually  of  Greek  workmanship,  and  which  must  have 
served  as  an  example.  It  was  this  Graeco-Buddhist 
manner  that  reached  Japan  just  before  the  Kara 
period,  when  Japanese  artists  were  engaged  by  impe- 
rial command  on  bronze  altar-pieces  and  images  for 


NAEA. 


289 


the  new  temples.  ‘‘  A beauty  almost  Greek  in  its  sen- 
sitiveness slowly  emerges/’  says  Fenollosa ; a combi- 
nation of  “Korean  bints  and  Japanese  genius;”  and 
it  established  a canon  for  all  future  images  of  Buddha. 

It  would  be  hard  to  dream  of  a more  peaceful  spot 
than  Xara ; the  town  itself  is  sleepy  enough,  but  the 
temples  are  removed  even  from  this,  standing  as  usual 
in  a beautiful  park  among  tall  trees.  As  you  enter 
the  long  avenue,  the  sound  of  wheels  brings  a score 
of  spotted  brown  deer  bounding  about  the  kuruina, 
nosing  for  salt  biscuits,  laying  cool  muzzles  in  your 
hand  without  a shadow  of  fear,  for  notliing  has  ever 
hurt  them  or  can  hurt  them  in  this  sacred  wood. 
Mossy,  time-worn  lanterns  almost  wall  the  road  and 
crowd  about  the  temples — so  many,  they  say,  no  one 
has  ever  been  able  to  count  them.  The  great  Shinto 
temple  and  its  companion  buildings  are  strong  red, 
and  the  galleries  are  hung  with  hundreds  more  lan- 
terns of  polished  brass,  making  a wonderful  depth  of 
glow  and  richness  in  the  cathedi*al  twilight  of  the 
wood.  The  divinities  are  ancestors  of  the  Fnjiwara 
family,  and  their  Wishiria  crest — -fiiji — appears  on  the 
filmy  robes  of  the  girls  who  dance  the  .<acred  Kagura 
dances;  they  wear,  besides,  a white  under-dress  and 
wide,  full  trousers,  of  an  odd  shade  of  red.  Thev 
have  their  hair  down  their  backs,  tied  just  at  the  end, 
after  the  old  Court  fashion,  and  wave  branches  and 
little  bells  as  they  sway  and  pose  to  the  wailing  Shinto 
flutes. 

VoL.  II. — 19 


290 


JAPAN. 


Farther  over  there  is  a large  Buddhist  temple, 
perched  on  great  piles  and  crossing  timbers,  built  out 
from  the  side  of  the  hill ; it  is  reached  by  a high 
flight  of  wooden  steps,  and  it,  too,  is  hung  with  count- 
less lanterns  of  bra.ss  and  bronze.  One  feels  that  lan- 
terns must  surely  be  the  meihuUm,  the  keepsake  of 
Nara,  but  instead  they  sell  little  painted  images 
called  ningyo,  dolls,-  repre.scnting  the  Xb  and  Kagura 
dancers,  and  sticks  of  India  ink  of  a particularly  excel- 
lent quality — which  does  indeed  seem  appropriate  for 
so  arti.stic  a place — also  fans,  and  trifles  made  of  deer 
horn.  A third  great  temple,  founded  in  the  Xara 
period,  was  burnt  a couple  of  hundred  years  ago,  and 
has  little  left  but  two  pagodas  and  a hall  full  of  admira- 
ble wooden  statues. 

Foreign  travelers  often  stay  some  time  at  Xara  ; 
two  of  the  hotels  give  more  or  less  European  accom- 
modation, and  it  is  near  enough  to  0.saka  to  get  sup- 
plies from  there,  if  needful.  For  re.st  or  sketching, 
nothing  could  well  be  lovelier;  but  it  is  not  particu- 
larly cool  in  suniiner,  and  winter  behind  paper  shoji  is 
something  strangers  should  not  lightly  attempt.  The 
loveliest  time  is  spring,  when  the  [)lum  is  in  blos.som 
at  Tsukigase,  seven  ri  up  the  valley — unless  by  now 
modern  progress  has  done  away  with  the  trees.  Or, 
better  still,  come  in  autumn,  when  the  rains  are 
over  and  the  jilain  lies  in  dreamy  haze  and  all 
the  maples  are  aflame.  On  such  a day,  instead 
of  offering  the  customary  gift.s,  Sugiwara  Michi- 


NARA.  291 

zane,  the  faithful  premier,  wrote  at  one  of  these 
temples : 


“ Nought  bring  I to-day; 

May  the  gods  take  lavish  fee— 
Crimson,  gold  inlay, 

Brocade  of  the  maple  tree, 
From  the  sides  of  Tamuke.” 


CHAPTER  XV. 


OSAKA. 

According  to  the  Kojiki  and  Nihongi,  the  eldest 
and  the  youngest  of  Prince  Fire  Fade’s  four  sons  met 
one  day  in  the  palace  in  Kiushiu  and  consulted  as  to 
the  best  place  for  their  future  seat  of  government. 
They  decided  to  go  east,  and  passed  up  through  Kiu- 
shiu, and,  from  the  northeastern  part  of  that  island, 
sailed  over  to  the  part  of  the  main  island  that  comes 
down  to  the  straits  of  Shimonoseki.  There,  in  what 
was  afterwards  the  province  of  Aki,  they  remained 
eight  years,  subduing  the  previous  settlers,  who  are 
known  to  the  Kojiki  as  “Earth  Spiders”  and  “Reed 
Men.”  Murray  compares  their  progress  to  the  migra- 
tions of  the  hordes  of  Goths  in  Europe,  who  moved, 
with  all  their  belongings  and  all  the  tribe,  young  and 
old,  women  and  children ; and  they  stopped  hmg 
enough  to  cultivate  the  ground,  as  well  as  hunt  and 
fish  and  fight. 

After  the  eight  years,  they  sailed  across  from  the 
shores  of  the  Inland  Sea  to  a harbor  at  the  mouth  of  a 
river,  which  they  called  Naniwa,  or  Xami-hana — 
Wave-blossom — because  of  the  dashing  spray  through 

292 


OSAKA. 


293 


which  they  had  to  land.  From  here  they  proceeded 
to  Yamato,  and  the  elder  brother  was  shot  by  an 
arrow  while  fighting  the  barbarians,  and  soon  after- 
ward  died;  but  the  younger,  Jimmu  Tenno,  went  on 
and  overcame  all  the  demons  and  ogres  and  other 
opponents,  and  established  the  line  of  the  Sun  God- 
dess in  the  sacred  province. 

Xaniwa  seems  to  have  been  a small  seaport  from  a 
very  early  period,  and  for  a time  it  was  also  the  impe- 
rial capital.  Thus  it  happened  that  the  first  Buddhist 
temple  in  Japan  was  built  there,  in  522,  and  a Korean 
mission  established.  But,  fifty  years  later,  a severe 
epidemic  broke  out,  and  one  of  the  Emperor’s  advis- 
ers protested  against  the  foreign  religion,  declaring 
that,  both  in  his  fatlicr’s  reign  and  his,  the  pestilence 
had  ravaged  the  countrv,  “ so  that  the  nation  is  about 
to  be  de.stroycd.  The  cause  of  these  ills  is  the  impiety 
of  those  who  have  established  this  religion  of  Buddha.” 
The  Emperor  Avas  convinced,  and  gave  orders  to  pro- 
hibit Buddhism  ; the  temple  was  burned  down,  the 
statue  of  Buddha  thrown  into  the  river  and  the  monks 
imj)ri.soned  ; but  the  pestilence  did  not  cease,  and  two 
Emperors  died  within  a year.  Before  the  end  of  the 
century,  the  Eni]>ress  Suiko  and  Prince  Shotokii 
restored  the  priest.s’  privileges  and  gave  Buddhism  a 
position  from  Avhich  it  could  not  again  be  shaken. 
Shotoku  is  worshiped  as  one  of  the  patron  saints  of 
O.^aka,  at  the  temple  Avhieh  he  is  said  to  have  founded. 
Peo])le  come  there  and  make  petitions  to  the  .saint  for 


294 


JAPAN. 


their  departed  friends,  asking  him  to  show  them  the 
way  to  paradise.  There  is  a l)ell  for  the  worshipers 
to  ring,  set  in  a shrine  by  itself,  and  in  another  build- 
ing a stream  of  sacred  water  pours  from  the  mouth  of 
a stone  tortoise  and  flows  across  the  floor,  and  here 
the  people  drop  in  slips  of  paper,  on  which  they  have 
written  the  names  of  their  dead.  The  sacred  stream 
carries  them  away  to  Shotoku  Daishi,  and  thus  the 
departed  will  be  sure  of  a kindly  reception  from  the 
saint. 

The  name  of  the  place  was  apparently  changed  to 
Osaka  in  the  fifteenth  century.  At  that  time  it  was 
an  important  stronghold  of  the  monks,  and  after 
Nobunaga  had  destroyed  Hiezan,  the  priests  of  the 
Ilongwanji  stirred  up  a holy  war  against  him  and  for- 
tified themselves  at  Osaka.  Xobunaga  besieged  them, 
and  would  probably  have  made  anotlier  wholesale 
massacre  if  the  Emperor  had  not  interfered  and  caused 
their  lives  to  be  spared;  but  their  fortress  was  given 
up  and  became  an  imperial  castle. 

From  this  time  the  prosperity  of  Osaka  rapidly 
increased.  Hideyoshi  protected  the  merchants  and 
encouraged  commerce,  and  in  1583  chose  Osaka  for 
his  capital,  and  built  there  the  great  castle  which  stood 
till  1868. 

Osaka  is  not  actually  on  the  sea,  but  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Yodogawa,  which  drains  lake  Biwa,  and  ocean- 
going steamers  cannot  come  to  it.  Kobe,  fifty  miles 
away,  is  the  port  for  the  long  distance  trade.  But  for 


OSAKA. 


295 


internal  commerce  it  is  well  fitted  ; the  products  of  the 
whole  region  around  lake  Biwa  and  Kyoto  can  come 
directly  there  by  water,  and  tlie  small  vessels  of  the 
coasting  trade  find  their  way  around  from  all  the  ports, 
as  well  as  from  the  Inland  Sea.  The  river  winds  in  a 
double  curve  like  an  S,  cutting  the  city  into  two  unequal 
parts  ; then  it  divides,  reaching  the  sea  by  two  .streams. 
An  island  at  the  fork  was  granted  as  a foreign  conces- 
sion by  the  early  treaties,  but  the  port  was  not  actually 
opened  till  18()7.  The  Concession  is  a pretty  j)lace, 
well  built  up  with  substantial  house.s,  and  .sliaded  by 
trees  along  the  water;  but  as  a commercial  centre  for 
foreign  trade  Osaka  has  never  been  a sncce.ss,  and 
much  the  larger  part  of  the  foreigners  residing  there 
belong  to  the  various  missions.  In  1897  the  exports 
to  foreign  ])orts  were  only  a twentieth  of  Kobe’s  and 
half  Nagasaki’.s,  and  there  were  oidy  about  a hundred 
foreigners,  not  counting  Chinese.  Such  firms  as  there 
were  have  mostly  moved  to  Kobe  or  sold  out  to 
Japane.se. 

Yet  Osaka  is  the  second  city  of  the  empire,  a place 
of  half  a million  inhabitants,  “ compact  and  well  laid 
out,  clean  and  animated,”  thinks  the  author  of  “ Euro- 
])oan  Settlements  in  the  Far  East.”  Clean  it  certainly 
i.s,  but,  unfortunately,  subject  to  severe  epidemics, 
largely  due  to  an  execrable  water  .supply.  The  situa- 
tion is  in  itself  not  bad ; the  tide  affects  the  canals 
which  run  all  through  it,  but  it  lies  too  low  and  flat 
for  a perfect  city.  Modern  it  certainly  is,  and  well 


296 


JAPAN. 


compared  to  Manchester,  on  account  of  its  immense 
manufactures  of  cotton  and  silk  and  rugs,  as  well  as 
many  other  industries.  The  imperial  mint  is  here, 
founded  in  1868  by  the  initiative  of  Count  Okuma, 
with  English  managers  and  English  machinery,  but 
now  for  many  years  entirely  run  by  Japanese;  and 
the  arsenal,  where  likewise  there  is  foreign  machinery 
and  native  service ; besides  iron  works  and  shipyards 
and  the  big  spinning  mills,  and  entirely  too  many 
of  the  worst  features  of  American  factory  life. 

This  practical,  go-ahead  spirit  is  not  new  to  the 
place ; the  people  of  Osaka  seem  to  have  always  been 
different  from  the  rest  of  Jajian,  more  hard-headed 
and  worldly.  From  the  time  of  Hideyoshi,  Osaka 
merchants  enjoyed  privileges  no  other  city  possessed, 
not  even  Yedo,  the  Shogun’s  capital.  In  T'edo  even 
the  richest  merchant  was  inferior  to  the  lowest  Samu- 
rai ; in  Osaka  the  great  guilds  dictated  terms  to  princes, 
and  their  position  was  strikingly  like  that  of  the  Free 
Cities  of  Europe  in  relation  to  the  knights.  Under 
the  Tokugawa,  Osaka  paid  no  tax  to  the  central  gov- 
ernment except  an  annual  “ gift  ” of  ten  thousand 
rio ; it  had  its  own  local  administration,  its  own 
assembly  of  elders ; besides  these,  there  was  a mayor 
and  two  magistrates  appointed  by  the  Shogun,  and 
over  all  the  governor  of  the  castle,  which  belonged  to 
the  Tokugawa. 

But,  above  all,  Osaka  was  the  port  of  departure  for 
the  rice  of  the  south.  Sendai  sent  direct  to  A"edo, 


V A 


OSAKA. 


297 


but  the  other  two  centres — Kumamoto  and  Xiigata — 
were  required  to  deliver  theirs  to  the  merchants  of 
Osaka,  who  shipped  it  to  the  Shogun’s  capital.  When 
the  Daimyo  got  into  difficulties,  the  Osaka  guild 
endorsed  their  paper,  and  refunded  themselves  when 
the  next  rice  crop  was  sold  at  the  Exchange ; and  be- 
fore the  end  of  the  Tokiig-awa  regime  many  a prince 
was  practically  at  their  mercy.  Under  the  Constitu- 
tion the  city  is  still  favored  ; one  of  the  seven  higher 
courts  sits  liere,  and  it  has  a flourishing  Board  of 
Trade,  the  first  in  the  country',  with  many  lesser  privi- 
leges that  keep  uj)  the  old  prestige. 

The  enclosure  of  the  castle  is  now  u.sed  for  the  gar- 
rison, and  a special  pass  is  needed  to  see  it.  Besides 
the  wonder  of  the  great  walls,  it  commands  a vast 
ma|i-like  view  of  the  city  and  the  wide  plain  in  which 
it  lies ; the  endless  dark  roofs  netted  in  a mesh  of 
shining  canals,  and  the  river  winding  through,  half 
hidden  sometimes  under  the  throng  of  brown  jimks 
and  the  forest  of  masts.  Far  down  is  a glimpse  of  the 
green  island  where  the  townspeople  come  out  on  sum- 
mer evenings  to  play,  and  among  the  low  roofs,  straight 
and  high  and  hideous,  rises  chimney  after  chimney 
rolling  out  clouds  of  s(X)ty  smoke. 

One  of  the  marvels  of  Hidcyo-dii’s  castle  was  that 
he  built  it  in  three  years,  laying  many  Daimyo  under 
tribute  to  supply  the  materials.  The  hewn  blocks  ai’o 
even  more  enormous  than  at  Tokyo  or  Xagoya  ; like 
those,  they  are  squared  or  jx)lygonal,  cut  to  the  finest 


298 


JAPAN. 


joining,  and  fitted  together  without  mortar.  It  stands 
on  a hill  not  greatly  raised  above  the  plain,  and  a part 
of  the  riv’er  has  been  turned  a little  aside  to  fill  the 
moats,  which,  Avith  the  wall,  are  all  that  remain  of 
1 1 ideyoshi’s  fortress. 

It  was  here  that  IIideyo.shi’s  son,  Ilideyori,  made 
his  last  stand  against  leyasu.  The  battle  of  Seki- 
gahara  had  established  the  Tokugawa  power,  and  made 
leyasu  the  acknowledged  master  of  the  country ; but 
he  left  Hideyori  his  two  provinces  and  the  castle, 
Avaiting  for  some  excuse  to  take  these  also.  It  Avas 
fourteen  years  before  this  excuse  finally  came,  when 
Ilideyori  dedicated  the  great  bell  at  the  Daibutsu 
temple,  in  Kyoto,  and  leyasu  pretended  that  tAA'o 
Chinese  characters  in  the  inscription  Avere  so  AAorded 
as  to  imply  an  insult  to  himself.  The  two  characters, 
read  in  one  of  the  possible  Avays,  made  his  oaaui  name, 
and  he  affirmed  that  Ilideyori  Avas  calling  doAvn  a 
curse  upon  him,  and  insisted  upon  an  inquiry  as  to 
the  loyalty  of  Hideyori’s  followers.  Thereupon  the.se 
folloAA’ers  flocked  to  Osaka  and  fortified  themseh-es 
there.  leyasu  summoned  the  other  clans  and  be- 
sieged the  castle  for  a year;  then  peace  Avas  made, 
but  broken  the  next  year,  Avhen  a still  greater  number 
of  retainers  entrenched  themseh’es  at  0.saka.  But 
the  year  before  leymsu  had  had  the  moats  partly  filled 
in,  as  one  of  the  conditions  of  peace,  and  the  clans 
took  the  castle  Avithout  great  difficulty.  When  it  Avas 
eAudent  that  they  could  not  hold  out,  Hideymri  set  fire 


OSAKA. 


299 


to  the  castle,  and  he  and  his  mother  threw  themselves 
into  the  flames ; his  chief  followers  killed  themselves. 
But  the  fire  was  put  out  and  the  place  repaired,  and 
it  became  a Tokugawa  fortress  of  the  first  rank. 

In  18G8  the  ex-Slaogun,  Prince  Tokugawa,  retired 
to  Osaka,  after  an  interview  with  the  Emperor  at 
Kyoto ; and  it  was  from  here  that  he  marched  to  the 
fatal  battle  of  Fusliimi.  When  that  day  was  lost,  he 
fled  back  to  Osaka,  and  went  on  board  a ship,  first 
warning  the  foreigners — who  had  only  entered  the 
(\)ncc.ssion  a few  months  previously — that  he  coidd 
no  longer  guarantee  their  safety.  II is  retainers  })il- 
laged  the  castle  and  set  it  on  fire,  and  tlien  followed, 
e.seaping  with  him  to  Ycdo;  and  wlien  the  Imperial- 
ists arrived  they  found  only  burning  ruins.  A few 
months  later  the  Eni[)eror  himself  came  to  Osaka,  by 
tlie  advice  of  some  of  his  ministers,  who  thought — 
and  very  wi,scly — tliat  it  would  be  far  easier  to  make 
the  necessary  reforms  from  a new  capital.  But  he 
soon  after  returned  to  Kyoto,  and  chose  Tokyo 
instead,  this  being  partly  becau.se  his  advisers  be- 
lieved his  presence  there  was  the  best  possible  means 
of  gaining  over  those  who  were  hesitating  between 
loyalty  to  the  ex-Shogun  and  to  the  Kyoto  Court. 
The  event  has  jiroved  them  entirely  riglit.  If  the 
jK'ople’s  awe  of  their  hidden  lord  is  somewhat  less, 
now  that  he  is  visible,  their  love  and  loyalty  are 
surely  more. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


KOBE. 

The  treaties  of  1858  granted  three  open  ports  for 
residence  and  trade  — namely,  Nagasaki,  Kanagawa 
(afterwards  Yokohama)  and  Hakodate;  and  they 
promised  two — Niigata,  on  the  west  coast,  and  Hyogo, 
which  is  generally  known  by  the  name  of  its  foreign 
half,  Kobe.  These  were  to  be  opened  within  a year 
or  two  after  the  others,  and  likewise  residence  “ Con- 
cessions” in  Osaka  and  Yedo.  Black,  in  his  “ Younsr 
Japan,”  gives  a vivid  picture  of  the  negotiations,  the 
vexatious  delays  and  disappointments  to  which  the 
government  was  driv'en  to  resort  by  fear ‘of  outrages 
from  lawless  clansmen  and  Ilonin,  if  the  aliens  were 
admitted  too  soon.  The  fact  was  that  the  fatal 
“ Richardson  affair”  of  1862,  and  other  attacks,  pro- 
voked though  they  nearly  always  were,  had  made  the 
foreign  representativ'es  willing  to  put  off  dangerous 
experiments ; and  the  two  new  ports  and  Concessions 
were  not  actually  opened  till  the  beginning  of  1868. 
The  Concession  at  Osaka  had  been  insisted  upon, 
because  it  was  known  to  be  the  second  city  in  the 
empire,  and  of  the  greatest  importance  commercially, 

300 


KOBE. 


301 


which  made  the  foreigners  suppose  there  would  be 
large  opportunities  for  trade.  They  either  did  not 
know  or  did  not  realize  that  in  the  absence  of  a harbor 
for  sea-going  ve.ssels  they  would  gain  little.  The  gov- 
ernment, on  its  side,  tried  to  make  matters  run 
smoothly  by  creating  a trading  corporation  of  twenty 
Osaka  merchants,  and  giving  them  importance  by 
titles  of  rank  and  grants  of  income. 

Thus  when  the  time  at  last  came  everything  began 
smoothly.  But  the  foreigners  were  .scarcely  settled 
when  the  battle  of  Fushimi  precipitoted  the  so-called 
Tokugawa  rebellion,  and  the  Shogun  warned  the  rep- 
resentatives that  he  could  no  longer  guarantee  their 
safety  at  O.saka.  They  went  accordingly  to  Kobe, 
where  tlieir  ships  wei’e  at  hand  as  a refuge,  in  case  of 
necessity.  It  must  be  remembered  that  it  was  with 
the  Shogun’s  government  that  the  representatives  had 
been  treating,  and  up  to  this  time  the  Kyoto  Court 
had  liad  nothing  but  hostility  for  them.  The  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Powers  were  nearly  all  on  the  side 
of  Tokugawa,  until  Sir  Harry  Parkes  arrived,  and  by 
his  keen  insight  di.scovercd  where  the  real  sover- 
eignty of  the  empire  ought  to  rest.  The  foreigners 
in  Kobe  not  unnaturally  felt  thcm.sclves  in  an  uncer- 
tain position,  and  had  a number  of  frights,  the  wor.st 
of  all  when  some  retainers  of  Bizen  fired  on  a couple 
of  French  soldiers  who  accidentally  ero.ssed  their  line. 
Luckily  no  one  was  killed  ; but  the  guards  were  called 
out,  two  or  three  peojde  wounded,  and  the  entire 


302 


JAPAN. 


Settlement  thrown  into  the  wildest  alarm.  Mitford, 
who  was  there  with  the  British  legation,  tells  of  all 
sorts  of  martial  effervescence.  If  it  had  not  been 
for  the  serious  nature  of  the  offence  given,  which  was 
an  attack  upon  the  flags  of  all  the  treaty  Powers,  and 
for  the  terrible  retribution  which  was  of  necessity 
exacted,  the  whole  affair  would  have  been  recollected 
chiefly  for  the  ludicrous  events  which  it  gave  rise  to.” 
The  retribution  of  which  he  speaks  was  the  death  of 
the  officer  who  had  given  the  order  to  fire  on  the 
Frenchmen,  and  who  was  condemned  by  the  govern- 
ment to  commit  harakiri. 

All  that  is  long  past,  and  rough  coolies  and  drunken 
sailors  of  the  “ flags  of  all  the  Powei’s  ” are  now  the 
only  breakers  of  the  peace.  Kobe-Hyogo  “ grew  up 
like  a mushroom,”  as  a Japanese  wrote  ten  years  ago, 
and  it  is  growing  still.  In  1898  there  were  about  a 
thousand  Europeans  and  Americans,  and  as  many 
Chinese,  besides  over  two  hundred  thou.<and  Japanese. 
It  is  a prettily  situated  place  ; the  bu-siness  part  lies  on 
a level  space  a mile  or  more  across,  between  the  harbor 
and  the  hill,  where  the  residences  are — pleasant  cot- 
tages and  green  gardens  bowered  in  trees.  A fine 
stone  bund,  or  retaining  wall,  runs  all  along  the 
water  front,  and  there  is  an  iron  pier  and  two  railroad 
piers,  likewise  two  docks  and  the  imperial  shipyard, 
capable  of  dry-docking  vessels  of  two  thousand  tons  ; 
and  a custom  house,  warehouses,  clubs,  cricket  ground, 
gas  and  water  and  newspapers,  and  all  needful  require- 


KOBE. 


303 


ments  for  a bit  of  Western  life  set  down  on  the  edge 
of  the  Ea.st.  All  the  liners  call  at  Kobe,  foreign  and 
Japanese  alike,  and  all  the  coasting  service — a little 
fleet  in  itself — besides  the  small  steamers  plying  about 
the  Inland  Sea.  Except  for  some  severe  heat  in  mid- 
summer, the  climate  is  considered  unusually  pleasant, 
and  altogether  Kobe  is  the  favorite  port  with  the 
foreign  residents. 

II  yogo  proper  is  altogether  Japanese  ; it  lies  across 
the  ^linato  river,  Avhich  meanders,  after  the  habit  of 
Japanese  rivers,  among  the  stones  of  an  immen.sely  wide 
bed.  lying  a great  deal  higher  np  than  the  surrounding 
country ; and  ev’ery  year  or  so,  after  the  rains,  it  dis- 
ports itself  in  a flood  that  threatens  the  embankments, 
and  even  the  stone  bridge  connecting  the  two  towns. 
Kiyomori  of  Taira  banked  up  its  present  bed  in  the 
twelfth  century,  and  likewise  made  other  imjn'ove- 
raents,  ])art  of  which  still  remain. 

There  is  not  much  of  interest  just  around  the  city 
itself;  outside  there  are  a few  pretty  walks  and  rides, 
such  as  the  trip  to  Xunil)iki  gorge  and  its  pair  of 
waterfalls,  or  to  Jkuta  temple,  in  a s])lendid  grove  of 
camj)lior  trees ; or  to  the  baths  of  Suwa-yama,  or  to 
f’ape  Wada,  beyond  Hyogo,  where  there  is  a pretty 
tea-garden  and  a glorious  view  of  the  sea  and  the 
nearer  islands ; while  among  the  hills  there  are  plenty 
of  longer  climbs  for  the  energetic.  Hyogo  possesses 
a Daibutsu,  nearly  fifty  feet  high  and  only  less  ugly 
than  the  Kyoto  one,  and  a beautiful  little  bronze 


304 


JAPAN. 


Amida  on  a stone  pedestal,  before  a pond  of  lotus. 
Relics  of  Kiyoinori  are  at  many  temples,  and  of  Xitta 
Yoshisada  and  Masashige,  faithful  generals  of  Go- 
Daigo  the  unlucky,  who  fought  a great  battle  here  in 
the  river-bed  and  were  utterly  defeated. 

This  battle  of  Minatogawa  was  the  culminating 
act  of  a life-long  tragedy,  and  the  cruelest  pity  of  it 
is  that  the  Emperor  was  anything  but  worthy  of  the 
romantic  devotion  paid  to  him.  It  was  not  that  he 
failed  in  courage ; the  story  of  his  escape  from  exile, 
hidden  under  a pile  of  fish,  proves  him  no  palace  dar- 
ling. But  he  was  open  to  flattery ; instead  of  reward- 
ing the  faithful  knights  who  had  fought  for  him,  in  a 
way  to  strengthen  their  hands,  he  set  them  aside  for 
men  who  could  make  soft  speeches,  and,  worse  than 
all,  he  believed  the  traitor  Ashikaga  Takauji,  against 
his  own  son. 

Three  generations  before  Go-Daigo  there  had  been 
two  lines  of  succession  in  the  imperial  family,  de- 
scended from  two  brothers,  who  had  both  reigned. 
For  nearly  a century  the  Emperor  had  been  chosen 
from  one  or  tlie  other,  according  to  the  will  of  the 
military  rulers  at  Kamakura.  Go-Daigo,  who  ciime 
to  tlie  throne  in  1319,  enlisted  the  aid  of  his  son,  the 
Buddhist  priest  iSIorinaga,  and  with  him  and  the 
]iriests  of  Hiezan  laid  a plot  against  the  Kamakura 
government.  The  Regent,  Hojo,  sent  an  army  against 
Kyoto,  with  orders  to  arrest  the  Emperor ; but  Morin- 
aga  gave  warning,  and  Go-Daigo  fled  with  the  impe- 


KOBE. 


305 


rial  insignia  to  Mount  Kasugi,  near  Kyoto,  where  he 
assembled  an  array  of  his  partisans.  The  Regent 
thereupon  proclaimed  the  heir  apparent  Emperor,  in 
place  of  Go-Daigo,  marched  against  Kasugi  and  took 
it,  and  sent  Go-Daigo  to  honorable  retirement  on  an 
island  in  the  Inland  Sea ; his  two  sous  were  banished 
to  Sado,  on  the  desolate  west  coast.  This  ends  act 
the  first. 

The  two  heroes  of  the  struggle  now  come  on  the 
scene ; first,  Kusonoki  Masashige,  then  Nitta  Yo.shi- 
sada,  who  was  a member  of  the  Minamoto  family,  and 
at  first  on  the  side  of  his  Kamakura  kin,  but  was  won 
over  by  Prince  ^lorinaga.  Ashikaga  Takauji  was 
also  sent  against  Kyoto,  but  he,  too,  went  over  to  the 
ex-Emjx;ror,  not  from  any  loyalty,  as  afterwards 
appeared,  but  from  hatred  of  the  Hojo  Regents.  Go- 
Daigo  now  escaped  from  his  island,  Morinaga  gathered 
an  army,  and  they  all  marched  up  against  Kamakura. 
It  was  then  that  Nitta  threw  his  sword  into  the  sea, 
and,  with  the  help  of  the  sea-god,  entered  the  city  and 
destroyed  it. 

Go-Daigo,  as  ex-Emperor,  now  retunied  to  Kyoto 
in  triumph,  and  at  ouce  began  his  series  of  blunders ; 
finally  allowing  A.shikaga  to  arrest  Prince  Morinaga  on 
a charge  of  conspiracy  and  imprison  him  at  Kamakura, 
where,  after  a year  of  confinement,  he  was  secretly 
put  to  death.  Ashikaga  then  proclaimed  him.self 
Shogun,  and  Go-Daigo  sent  Xitta  and  the  re.st  against 
him  and  defeated  him.  He  raised  another  army,  in 
VoL.  II.— 20 


306 


JAPAN. 


the  name  of  the  reigning  Emperor,  and  defeated  them. 
So  it  went,  back  and  forth,  year  after  year. 

At  last,  in  1336,  the  loyalists  found  themselves 
hemmed  in  at  Hyogo,  an  army  coming  against  them 
by  sea  and  another  by  land.  Believing  themselves 
overmatched,  they  prepared  for  a last  desperate  stand ; 
and  it  was  then  that  Masashige  sent  for  hLs  young  son 
and  bade  him  farewell,  commanding  him  to  escape  and 
train  himself  to  fight  for  his  lord.  The  boy  pleaded 
to  be  allowed  to  die  with  his  father  ; the  father  sternly 
refused,  declaring  that  duty  required  of  him  life  and  ser- 
vice. The  scene  is  very  dear  to  the  Japanese  drama- 
tists— the  boy’s  youth  and  distress,  the  father’s  stern- 
ness, breaking  for  a moment  into  tender  messages  and 
counsel,  and  the  final  calm  parting,  make  togetlier  the 
Samurai’s  ideal  of  conduct.  The  sou  went  away,  in 
charge  of  faithful  retainers,  and  did  grow  up  to  fight 
for  his  master,  and  to  die  for  him  a very  few  years 
later.  Masashige  went  into  the  battle  of  the  river-bed 
and  fell  there,  witli  nearly  all  his  following ; and 
shortly  after  Nitta,  too,  was  surprised  and  set  upon 
by  an  overwhelming  force,  and,  when  mortally 
wounded,  cut  off  his  own  head  with  his  sword.  Two 
years  later  Go-Daigo  himself  died,  still  clinging  to 
the  imperial  insignia,  which  he  had  kept  through  all 
the  struggle,  and  imploring  his  followers  not  to  rest 
till  the  succession  came  back  to  his  line — a command 
which  they  vainly  tried  to  obey,  at  the  cost  of  another 
twenty  years  of  war. 


KOBE. 


307 


There  are  several  delightful  excursions  by  rail  from 
Kobe.  The  Japanese  go  most  to  Xaka-yama-dera, 
one  of  the  Thirty-three  Holy  Places,  where  there  is  a 
beautiful  view  and  some  hot  springs ; and  to  the  pines 
of  Takasago,  beloved  of  poets,  a place  that  is  as  the 
Khine  or  the  Trossachs  in  Japanese  literature.  More 
than  one  Xo  drama  is  laid  here,  and  many  scenes  of 
the  Taira-Minamoto  Mar  of  the  Chrysanthemums. 
Here  was  the  tragic  death  of  Atsumori,  the  fair 
young  knight  whom  Kumagai  was  forced  to  kill, 
lest  he  fall  by  a baser  hand,  and  for  wliose  sake  he 
renounced  the  world.  And  prettiest  legend  of  all,  the 
Sj)irits  of  the  Pine  Trees,  typifying  a wedded  couple 
in  happy  old  age,  who  appear  as  two  nice  old  people 
raking  up  pine  needles  in  the  .sun.  Their  song  in  the 
Xo  drama  is  .sung  at  Japanese  weddings,  and  is  too 
pretty  for  me  to  resist  quoting  a fragment  from  Aston; 

“ On  the  four  seas 
Still  are  the  waves; 

The  world  is  at  peace. 

Soft  blow  thp  time-winds, 

Bustling  not  the  branches. 

“ The  dawn  is  near, 

And  the  hoar-frost  falls 
On  the  fir  tree’s  twigs. 

But  its  leaves’  dark  green 
Suffers  no  change. 

“ Morning  and  evening 
Beneath  its  shade 
The  leaves  are  swept  away, 

Yet  they  sufier  no  change.” 


308 


JAPAN. 


(Verse.)  “Though  many  a mile  of  mountain  and 
river  separate  them,  the  ways  of  a husband  and  wife 
whose  hearts  respond  together  with  mutual  love  are 
not  far  apart.” 

Only  a few  miles  beyond  Takasago  is  a fine  castle 
in  excellent  repair — Himeji — which  also  goes  back  to 
j)Oor  Go-Daigo  and  his  rebellious  Ashikaga  Shoguns ; 
the  five-storied  keep,  though,  and  the  turrets  and  most 
of  the  building,  are  the  work  of  Ota  Vobunaga, 
Xavier’s  friend,  a great  general  and  brave  and  loyal 
gentleman,  who  brought  order  out  of  the  lawlessness 
of  the  sixteenth  century',  and  made  the  way  ready  for 
Tokugawa  leyasu.  More  of  the  buildings  remain 
than  at  Xagoya,  and  the  situation  is  ver}'  lovely. 

Last,  farthest  from  Kobe  and  most  frequented  of 
foreigners,  is  Arima,  fourteen  hundred  feet  up  in  the 
bed  of  a dead  volcano ; reached  by  rail  and  chair  (or 
afoot)  over  the  Rokko-san  pass,  three  thousand  feet 
high.  There  are  .some  hot  springs,  and  the  place  is 
cool  and  pretty.  Xot  a few  come  over  from  China  to 
summer  at  Arima  because  of  its  convenience  to  the 
p(jrt,  and  it  is  a favorite  haunt  of  Kobe  and  Kyoto 
people. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


MIYAJIMA  AND  THE  INLAND  SEA. 

Probably  if  the  captain  of  a Pacific  liner  were 
asked  about  the  charms  of  the  Inland  Sea,  he  would 
denounce  it  as  the  worst  j)iece  of  water  in  his  course, 
so  winding  it  is,  so  beset  with  islands  and  rocks  and 
shoals.  But  at  least  it  is  for  the  most  part  smooth  and 
still,  and  few  waters  can  well  be  lovelier  to  look  upon, 
not  even  the  long  harbor  of  Bermuda,  which  it  resem- 
bles considerably ; though,  instead  of  twenty  miles,  as 
at  Hamilton  harbor,  it  is  here  two  hundred  and  thirty 
from  Kobe  to  the  straits  of  Shimonoseki  — the  end 
of  the  Inlaiul  Sea — and  one  hundred  and  fifty  more 
around  the  west  coast  of  Kiushiu  to  Nagasaki.  The 
sea  lies  nearly  east  and  west,  shut  in  on  the  north  by 
a long  arm  of  the  main  island,  and  on  the  south  by 
Shikoku,  and  closed  at  its  lower  end  by  Kiushiu, 
which  makes,  with  the  end  of  the  jnain  island,  the 
narrow  Shimonoseki  straits.  It  is  divided,  moreover, 
into  five  great  basins,  separated  by  narrow,  rocky  chan- 
nels, two  of  them  so  strewn  with  islets  that  the  free 
passage  is  only  a few  hundred  feet  wide.  The  larger 
islands  are  very  mountainous,  their  peaks  running  up 

309 


,310 


JAPAN. 


to  fifteen  Imnclred  feet;  the  greater  part  of  them  is 
not  wooded,  as  the  coast  is  farther  north,  but  green, 
nevertheless,  the  year  through,  and  all  repeating  em- 
erald and  opal  and  violet  in  the  shining  water.  Trop- 
ical the  sea  is  not,  only  a little  warmer,  a little  softer 
than  the  rest  of  Japan,  and  by  just  .so  much  the  love- 
lier than  even  Odawara  or  Matsushima  or  Volcano  bay. 

Part  of  the  charm  is  the  picturesque  life  along  the 
shore,  the  brown  villages  and  the  rice-fields,  and  the 
flock  of  fishing  boats,  beached  in  rows  along  the  shel- 
tered coves,  or  stealing  in  and  out  among  the  narrow 
channels.  The  ways  of  the  j)eople  are  exceedingly 
primitive;  those  who  are  afraid  Japan  is  ‘'getting 
spoiled  ” need  only  take  one  of  the  local  boats  among 
the  islands  to  find  themselves  quite  away  from  modern 
life. 

Just  beyond  the  turn  of  cape  INIaiko,  as  you  leave 
Kobe  to  enter  the  sea,  the  island  of  Awaji  lies  almo.st 
across  from  shore  to  shore,  leaving  only  a narrow 
channel  at  either  end.  According  to  tradition,  Awaji 
was  the  very  beginning  of  Japan,  the  first-born  of  the 
creator  pair  Isanagi  and  Isanami ; and  in  the  southern 
part  of  it  they  show  the  first  islet  piled  up  from  the 
drops  of  mud  on  Isanagi’s  spear — a mound  in  the  midst 
of  low  fields.  The  upper  end  of  the  island  is  a long, 
mountainous  point,  thrust  out  like  a finger  toward 
Kobe ; the  lower  end  is  exceedingly  rich  and  fertile,  and 
very  populous,  the  people  living  partly  by  fishing  and 
partly  by  farming,  as  they  do  everywhere  along  the  coast. 


MIYAJIMA  AND  THE  INLAND  SEA.  31 1 


On  Awaji,  they  say,  there  is  tlie  tomb  of  an  Em- 
peror who  died  there  in  exile.  The  Empress  Koken 
had  reigned  before  him,  and  having  no  heir,  she  had 
adopted  him  and  abdicated  in  his  favor ; but  appa- 
rently he  was  not  sufficiently  submissive  to  her  will, 
and,  moreover,  she  had  a favorite,  a priest  named 
Dokyo — this  was  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Nara  period, 
wlien  the  Buddhist  priests  had  great  inhnence  at  Court. 
At  any  rate,  she  dethroned  and  exiled  the  Emperor, 
and  took  the  throne  herself  again.  After  some 
months,  he  tried  to  escape  from  Awaji,  but  was  caught 
and  brought  back,  and  died  there  within  the  year,  some 
said  by  assassination.  The  priest  was  made  prime 
minister,  and  affected  the  state  of  a ])rince ; and  his 
followers  began  to  say  openly  that  if  he  were  Em- 
peror, the  country  would  be  prosperous.  Upon  this, 
one  of  the  nobles  consulted  an  oracle  at  one  of  the 
shrines,  and  the  answer  was,  “ No  subject  can  become 
an  Emperor ; the  difference  is  fundamental.  Let  the 
evil-doer  be  banished.”  This  oracle  greatly  incensed 
Dokyo,  and  he  had  the  venturesome  noble  exiled  ; but 
the  Empress  took  the  warning  to  heart,  and  chose  a 
new  heir  from  the  imperial  house. 

After  passing  Awaji  there  is  a wide  open  space,  the 
next  to  the  largest  of  the  five  nada,  or  basins,  into 
which  the  sea  is  divided.  Where  it  narrows  again, 
the  imjwrtant  town  of  Okayama  lies  on  the  right;  it 
used  to  be  on  the  sea,  but  is  now  five  miles  inland,  and 
a small  port  has  grown  up  for  convenience  on  the  har- 


312 


JAPAN. 


bor.  The  castle  garden  at  Okayama  is  famous  as  the 
most  beautiful  in  all  Japan ; it  is  large  enough  to  con- 
tain real  lakes  and  hills,  and  rocks  and  streams  and 
bridges,  and  besides  the  usual  pines  and  maples  and 
flowering  trees,  there  are  some  beautiful  palmettoes, 
growing  in  perfection  in  the  warm, equable  temperature. 

The  castle  of  Takamatsu,  on  the  Shikoku  side,  was 
attacked  by  Hideyoslii,  who  laid  siege  to  it  in  a remark- 
able way.  The  castle  is  .surrounded  on  three  sides  by 
water,  a lake  and  two  small  rivers,  so  that  it  was 
nearly  impossible  for  an  army  to  get  clo.se  enough  to 
storm  it ; and  Hideyoshi  decided  that  the  only  thing 
to  do  was  to  drown  it  out.  He  therefore  set  his  men 
to  dam  the  rivers,  and  the  water  gradually  ro.se  and 
rose,  till  the  besieged  prince  had  enough,  and  offered 
to  make  peace.  Ju.st  at  this  moment  Nobunaga,  for 
whom  Hideyoshi  was  acting,  was  set  upon  and  killed 
by  one  of  his  generals.  Hideyoshi  sent  word  to  the 
lord  of  Takamatsu,  saying  that  Nobunaga’s  death  did 
away  with  the  treaty,  and  that  he  might  either  renew 
the  peace,  or  fight;  it  was  quite  immaterial  to  Hideyoshi 
which  he  decided.  The  lord  naturally  preferred  peace 
to  any  more  water,  and  his  castle  was  allowed  to  stand. 

To  a Japanese  the  whole  reach  echoes  with  mem- 
ories of  great  fighting.s,  clan  against  clan,  Kiyomori  of 
Taira  slaying  the  Minamoto,  Yoshitsune  of  IMinamoto 
annihilating  the  Taira  at  Dan-no-ura ; memories,  too, 
of  Xavier’s  mission  at  Yamaguchi,  and  again  of  the 
“Shimonoseki  Affair”  of  1863,  when  the  Daimyo  of 


MIYAJLMA  AND  THE  INLAND  SEA. 


313 


Choshiu  tried  to  close  the  straits  to  foreign  vessels, 
and  the  Powers  responded  by  bombarding  bis  forts  for 
three  days  with  eighteen  ships.  As  Black  rather 
quaintly  remarks,  “Choshiu  was  converted” — namely, 
to  the  necessity  of  learning  the  game  before  trying  to 
play  it. 

All  the  world  knows  how  well  they  had  learned 
that  game  by  1895,  when  Manjuis  Ito  and  Li  Hung 
Chang  met  at  Shimonoseki  to  arrange  the  terms  of 
peace  with  China ; and  it  knows,  too,  how  the  three 
bullies — Russia,  France  and  Germany — forced  Japan 
to  give  up  Port  .\rthur,  in  order  that  Russia  might 
take  it  as  soon  as  she  was  rea  ly.  Japan  submitted  to 
the  insult,  because  her  statesmen  knew  that  she  was 
in  no  position  to  undertake  another  war  at  that 
moment,  even  against  less  overwhelming  odJs ; but 
she  will  not  soon  forget,  and  England  and  America 
may  some  day  have  to  regret  that  they  did  not  so 
much  as  enter  a protest  against  that  injustice. 

Pleasanter  memories  belong  to  Hiroshima,  a lively 
town  standing  a little  back  from  an  excellent  harbor, 
from  which  the  troops  embarked  for  Korea  and  China. 
The  Emperor  spent  the  winter  of  1894-’95  at  Hiro- 
shima, enduring  .some  quite  real  discomfort  in  order  to 
cheer  and  encourage  his  soldiers.  The  town  is  pret- 
tily situated  in  a little  plain  sheltered  by  hills  that  lie 
around  and  behind,  and  looking  out  on  a bay  dotted 
with  islands.  The  largest  of  the.se  islands  draws  pil- 
grims from  all  over  the  empire,  for  it  is  one  of  the 


314 


JAPAN. 


San-kei,  or  “ Three  most  beautiful  places  ” in  Japan, 
the  sacred  mountain  island  Miyajima. 

There  is  something  half  unreal  about  Miyajima;  in 
j)art  it  is  the  feeling  that  comes  to  one  most  often  in 
misty  dawns  and  twilights,  a sense  of  something  not 
quite  of  earth,  lent  for  a moment  from  some  dream- 
world just  beyond  our  ken.  Partly,  like  tbe  dawn- 
mystery,  it  is  an  efFect  of  vagueness  and  mere  physical 
loveliness,  partly,  too,  of  a certain  consciousness  of 
being  set  apart,  dedicated.  Namen  in  est,  said  the 
Roman  of  such  haunted  spots.  Ages  since  men  be- 
lieved in  this  divine  presence,  and  their  faith  has  been 
handed  on  and  multiplied  in  millions  of  devout  souls, 
till  the  influence  of  it  lingers,  as  burnt-ont  incense 
lingers  in  the  very  air.  What  vision  began  it?  Was 
it  the  spell  of  the  fair  island  set  in  a pale  sea,  or  the 
flash  of  phosphorescent  ripples  breaking  at  midnight 
over  its  wide  sands  ? One  Avonld  like  to  fancy  so, 
would  like  to  forget  that  primitive  man  is  not  apt  to 
be  over-sensitive  to  beauty  of  landscape,  that  there  is 
far  more  of  fear  than  joy  in  his  religious  awe.  And 
the  traditions  of  Miyajima  point  back  to  a worship 
very  primitive  and  very  ancient,  perhaps  pre-Japanese. 
IJke  ancient  Delos,  and  like  Kinkwazan  in  the  north 
of  Japan,  no  one  may  be  born,  no  one  may  die  on  the 
sacred  soil.  The  sick  must  be  rowed  aci’oss  to  the 
nearest  shore — or  at  least  this  was  so  in  the  old  days ; 
now  many  rides  are  relaxed  even  in  sacred  places. 

In  truth,  since  the  beginning  of  their  histoiy'  tbe 


MIYAJIMA  AND  THE  INLAND  SEA. 


315 


Japanese  have  been  proverbially  sensitive  to  natural 
beauty,  and  thereby,  no  doubt,  the  fame  of  Miyajima’s 
sanctity  was  much  enhanced ; still  its  great  renown 
dates  only  from  the  time — in  the  twelfth  century — 
when  Kiyomori  of  Taira  won  a great  battle  here- 
abouts, and  having  hewn  the  Minamoto  hip  and  thigh, 
built  here  a splendid  temjde  in  I’emembrance.  Since 
then  many  princes  have  added  to  its  adornment,  till  it 
is  one  of  the  richest  shrines  in  Japan. 

It  should  surely  have  been  the  temple  of  a sea  god. 
The  great  camphor-wood  torii  which  marks  the 
entrance  stands  far  out  in  the  bay,  and  the  temple 
buildings  wade,  as  it  were,  into  the  water  ; at  low 
tide  you  may  ])ass  on  stepping-stones  from  shrine  to 
shrine,  but  at  flood  the  sea  sweeps  in  across  the 
sands,  lap[)ing  against  the  slender  piles  supporting 
galleries  and  bridges,  until  the  whole  group  seems 
afloat,  like  a fleet  of  small  ships  moored  against  the 
shore. 

At  festival  times,  instead  of  a sacred  car,  gaily- 
decorated  boats  wind  at  night  in  long  procession 
among  the  shrines,  bearing  the  emblems  of  the  gods ; 
and  hundreds  of  lanterns  star  the  g-allcries  and  trail 
long  ribbons  of  light  in  the  water  below,  while  every 
wavelet  breaking  against  the  piers  rijijiles  back  in 
cool  phosphore.sccnt  light.  No  dogs  are  allowed  on 
the  island,  and  tame  deer  wander  about  the  shore,  and 
stray  out  on  the  balconies  to  nibble  the  paper  from 
the  very  lanterns. 


316 


JAPAN. 


Behind  the  shore  the  mountain  rises  steeply  to 
eighteen  hundred  feet,  thickly  covered  with  a forest 
of  magnificent  trees,  and  broken  by  romantic  gorges 
and  valleys.  There  are  many  temples  on  the  slopes, 
and  at  the  very  top  a shrine  where  a lamp  has  been 
burning  for  centuries. 

The  last  reach  of  the  Inland  Sea  is  an  open  sheet, 
some  sixty  or  seventy  miles  long,  almost  without  an 
island.  The  wide  Bungo  channel  leads  from  it  into 
the  Pacific,  between  Shikoku  and  Kiushiu,  and  on  the 
other  side  the  strait  of  Shimonoseki  makes  the  nar- 
rowest of  gateways  to  the  Japan  Sea.  Bold  head- 
lands guard  it  on  either  side,  and  an  island  lies 
directly  across  the  outer  end,  forcing  vessels  to  make 
a sharp  turn  directly  under  the  clilfs  and  the  masked 
batteries  that  tunnel  their  green  sides ; and  through 
this  narrow  channel  the  tide  races  with  great  speed, 
making  it  difficult  for  vessels  to  anchor  on  the  north- 
ern shore.  On  the  other  the  little  town  of  Mogi  has 
a good  harbor,  and  has  grown  into  quite  an  important 
place  since  the  Kiushiu  railroad  was  built  to  it, 
though  it  is  less  picturesque  and  attractive  than  Shi- 
monoseki, on  the  main  island,  and  has  not  the  same 
soft,  sheltered  atmosphere. 

Here  in  these  swift  tides,  say  the  fisher  people, 
pale  faces  rise  sometimes  from  the  waves,  and  flashes 
of  armor,  and  black,  disheveled  hair  floating  on  the 
water ; and  the  forms  stretch  their  hands,  crying  in 
ghostly  voices  for  the  loan  of  a dipper.  Then  the 


MIYAJIMA  AND  THE  INLAND  SEA.  317 


fisliermea  hasten  to  give  it ; but  first  they  are  careful 
to  knock  out  the  bottom,  else  the  spirits  would  quickly 
bale  the  sea  into  their  boat  and  swamp  it.  Most  of 
all  at  the  Feast  of  the  Dead  they  come,  for  these  are 
tlie  gliosts  of  the  Taira,  who  were  drowned  or  slain  in 
that  last  terrible  battle ; and  here  at  Dau-no-ura, 
where  the  bay  narrows  into  the  strait,  is  the  place 
where  they  fought. 

These  provinces  along  the  upper  shore  of  the  Inland 
Sea  Avere  Kiyomori’s  territory,  and  his  followers  held 
many  castles  here  and  there  on  the  coast.  But  Yo- 
shitsune  had  driven  them  from  Hyogo  and  destroyed 
tlie  palace  that  Kiyomori  built ; and  he  had  pursued 
them  from  place  to  place,  as  they  fled  with  their  Avives 
and  children,  and  Avith  the  young  Emperor  Antoku, 
Kiyomori’s  grandson.  Reaching  the  shore  at  Dan- 
no-ura,  they  took  to  their  ships,  hoping  to  escape  to 
Kiushiu ; but  Yoritomo’s  ships  OA’ertook  them,  and 
crowded  as  they  Avere  Avith  Avomen  and  children,  they 
made  a last  desperate  fight.  At  first  the  Taira  onset 
Avas  so  fierce  that  the  Minamoto  AA-ere  throAvn  into 
confusion  ; but  Yoshitsune  urged  his  followers  Avith 
mingled  taunts  and  encouragement,  and  they  drove 
their  boats  up  close,  and  leaping  among  the  Taira, 
slcAv  men  and  women  and  children  Avithout  mercy.  It 
Avas  Avhen  .she  saAv  that  all  Avas  lost  that  Kiyomori’s 
AvidoAv  took  her  grandson,  the  child  Emperor,  in  her 
arms,  bearing  Avith  him  the  mirror,  the  SAA'ord  and  the 
jcAvel,  and  s})rang  into  the  .sea.  A small  remnant 


318 


JAPAN. 


fled  to  Kiushiu ; they  were  relentle.ssly  pursued,  but  a 
few  liid  themselves  in  the  mountain.s,  where  their 
descendants  are  said  to  be  living  still,  poor,  proud  and 
suspicious,  resenting  any  interference  from  strangers. 
But  others  say  a portion  of  them  escaj)ed  far  over  the 
sea  and  settled  in  Mexico,  and  that  they  were  the 
ancestors  of  the  Mexican  Indians. 

I am  not  sure  whether  it  was  in  this  fight  or  another 
that  one  of  the  combatants  raised  as  a standard  a fan, 
on  which  was  painted  the  red  sun,  believing  that  no 
one  would  dare  shoot  at  it  for  fear  of  striking  the 
sacred  symbol.  But  one  archer  was  seen  to  bend  his 
bow,  and  as  the  arrow  passed,  the  fan  fluttered  from 
the  pole  into  the  sea.  Then  every  one  was  aston- 
ished, and  rowing  to  the  fan,  they  picked  it  up,  and 
found  the  archer  had  not  touched  the  fan  it.self,  but 
had  shot  away  the  pin  that  held  it  to  the  pole. 

Another  arrow,  shot  by  the  Minamoto,  was  plucked 
out  and  returned  by  a Taira  bowman,  piercing  one  of 
the  Minamoto  men.  A'oshitsune  cried  to  them  to 
shoot  it  back.  The  archer  took  it,  and  .said,  “ It  is 
too  weak  and  taking  out  another,  shot  two  men  on 
the  Taira  ship.  Greatly  elated,  the  iSIinamoto  sent  a 
shower  of  arrows  against  the  Taira,  killing  many. 
For  months  afterward,  they  say,  the  fi.shermen  drew 
up  in  their  nets  or  found  on  the  shore  the  armor  and 
bodies  of  the  slain. 

Another  bit  of  the  history  of  this  region  belongs 
much  farther  back.  On  the  northern  shore  of  the 


MIYAJIMA  AND  THE  INLAND  SEA.  31 9 


strait  is  a tomb,  which  is  said  to  be  that  of  the 
Emjieror  Chuai,  whom  the  energetic  Empress  Jingo 
tried  to  rouse  to  that  expedition  against  Korea  that 
she  afterwards  accomplished  herself.  According  to 
the  chronicles,  one  day  when  the  Emperor  was  play- 
ing on  his  lute,  the  spirit  of  divination  came  upon  the 
Empress,  and  she  prophesied  of  a wonderful  land  to 
the  west,  which  the  gods  bade  him  go  forth  to  con- 
quer. And  the  Emperor  was  moved  by  her  words ; 
but  one  of  the  high  loi'ds  of  the  palace  said,  “ West- 
ward, so  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  is  no  land,  but  only 
water  and  sky.  This  is  a dread  message,  my  Sove- 
reign ; cease  not  to  play  on  tliine  august  lute.”  Theu 
CImai’s  hand  wandered  afnu’n  over  the  string's : but, 
of  a sudden,  the  sound  died  and  he  sank  down,  smitten 
of  an  unknown  disease,  and  all  were  awe-struck, 
believing  tlie  gods  had  slain  him  because  lie  did  not 
obey  the  heavenly  vision.  But  the  Empress  called 
together  the  men  of  war  and  bade  them  make  ready 
an  expedition,  for  tliat  she  herself  would  lead  them; 
and  they  went  forth  to  the  western  land  and  compiercd 
it.  And  the  memory  of  this  conquest  of  the  Empress 
Jingo  was  revived  in  1895,  for  the  encouragement  of 
the  soldiers  who  sailed  out  from  Shimonoseki  to 
defend  Korea  against  Chinese  encroachment. 


CHAPTER  XYIII. 


NAGASAKI. 


“ The  Mitsu  Bishi  Dockyard  and  Engine  Works,  Nagasaki.  No. 
1 dock  takes  vessels  up  to  a length  of  500  feet,  and  of  a draught  of 
26  feet.  New  granite  dock,  patent  slip,  shipbuilding  yard.  The 
engine  works  are  extensive,  and  contain  machinery  of  the  latest 
type.  Boilers,  land  and  marine,  built  to  order.  Telegraphic 
address,  ‘ Dock,  Nagasaki.’  ” 

Seeing  an  advertisement  like  this,  one  naturally 
expects  to  find  the  whole  town  of  the  same  bustling, 
mechanical  order ; or,  at  least,  as  modern  and  enter- 
prising as  Osaka.  But  nothing  could  be  fartlier  from 
the  facts.  The  docks  and  iron  works  lie  ajtart,  and 
over  most  of  the  place  there  broods  an  atmosphere  of 
sleepv  calm.  The  foreign  part  of  the  town  is  not 
large ; it  lies  mostly  along  the  bay,  where  there  are 
several  warehouses  and  a few  hotels,  among  them  one 
really  good  new  one,  built  lately.  The  residences  are 
on  the  hill  overlooking  the  bay,  and  the  Japanese  town 
runs  out  in  the  other  direction.  Although  it  was  the 
one  entrance  to  Japan  for  a couple  of  centuries,  and 
has  been  an  open  port  for  more  than  forty  years, 
Nagasaki  has  been  left  behind  by  Yokohama  and 
Kobo,  and  exports  little  to  foreign  markets ; indeetl, 

320 


NAGASAKI.  321 

if  it  were  not  for  the  convenience  of  coaling,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  the  liners  would  call  here  at  all. 
Nagasaki  coal  is  cheap,  because  the  mines  are  not  far 
away ; but  it  is  soft  and  dirty,  and  decidedly  inferior 
to  the  Hokkaido  article.  The  vessels  coal  from  barges 
in  the  harbor,  aad  women  do  much  of  the  work  of 
carrying  baskets,  a few  men  shoveling  and  directing. 
For  once,  the  babies  are  left  at  home. 

Nagasaki  liarbor  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
world.  It  lies  near  the  head  of  a deep  inlet,  almost 
steep  and  narrow  enough  for  a Norway  fiord,  sur- 
rounded by  hills  several  hundred  feet  high,  that  are 
covered  with  forests  of  maple  and  evergreen  oak  and 
great  camphor  trees.  There  is  not  much  space  between 
the  water  and  the  steep  slopes  of  the  hills ; the  houses 
of  the  town  have  soon  to  begin  climbing,  roof  above 
roof,  like  a city  tilted  on  edge.  The  docks  arc  on  the 
far  side  of  the  harbor.  They  were  the  first  in  Ja])an, 
having  been  built  l)y  Dutch  engineers,  commissioiu'd 
by  the  Daimyo  of  Ilizen;  the  Shogun’s  governinent 
bought  them  from  him,  and,  after  the  Restoration, 
they  were  turned  over  to  the  imperial  government 
and  finally  sold  l)v  it  to  the  great  banking  and  com- 
mercial firm,  the  ^litsu  Bishi  Consolidated  Company, 
somewhere  in  the  eighties.  A year  or  so  ago  the 
Company  built  an  ocean  liner  of  six  thousand  tons, 
with  all  the  latest  improvements  in  water-tight  com- 
partments and  plans  and  machinery,  and  her  mate  is 
being  constructed  now. 

VoL.  1 1. -21 


322 


JAPAN. 


If  Nagasaki  was  chosen  as  the  one  port  for  foreign 
trade  with  an  eye  to  keeping  the  strangers  well  away 
from  the  rest  of  the  country,  the  selection  could  hardly 
have  been  better.  The  place  lies  on  a ragged,  moun- 
tainous peninsula,  in  the  province  of  Hizen,  which 
again  is  a sort  of  projection  from  the  northwest  comer 
of  the  island  of  Kiusliiu.  To  have  landed  an  army 
there  and  attempted  to  march  into  the  country  would 
have  been  worse  than  useless  ; any  one  trying  it  would 
have  been  held  in  a trap  of  mountains,  as  leyasu  proba- 
bly realized  when  he  gJive  his  .sanction  to  the  traders. 

The  Portuguese  account  of  their  first  visit  to  Jaj>an 
has  to  be  taken  with  a grain  of  salt.  They  .say  that, 
in  1542,  three  .shipwrecked  Portuguese  were  taken  up 
by  a Chinese  vessel,  which,  in  turn,  came  to  grief,  and 
was  driven  on  an  island  off  the  southern  coast  of  Kiu- 
shiu ; an  educated  Chinese  interpreted  for  the  party, 
by  writing,  as  he  could  do  quite  easily,  since  the  Jap- 
anese use  the  Chinese  characters  to  write  their  own 
language,  as  well  as  the  numerous  words  and  expres- 
sions borrowed  from  the  Chinese.  They  employ  the 
ideographs  to  render  Japane.se  words  of  the  same 
meaning — as  if  we  should  be  able  to  put  down  a sign 
meaning  “dog,”  which  a German  could  raad  Hand 
and  a Frenchman  chien.  Through  this  interpreter 
tliey  obtained  what  they  needed,  and  made  a return 
gift  of  gums,  which  were  afterwards  forwarded  to  the 
Shogun. 

A few  years  later  Mendez  Pinto  made  a visit,  with 


NAGASAKI. 


323 


several  other  Portuguese,  in  a Chinese  ship — or  one 
that  claimed  to  be  Chinese.  They  landed  on  a large 
island,  directly  south  of  Kiushiu,  and  the  Daimyo 
received  them  with  kindness  and  much  curiosity,  and 
apparently  asked  many  questions,  which  they  answered, 
without  troubling  greatly  about  facts,  in  whatever 
way  they  thought  most  likely  to  enhance  tlie  glory  of 
their  country  in  his  eyes.  Presents  of  firearms  were 
the  most  acceptable  gifts;  but,  unluckily,  the  Prince’s 
son  nearly  brought  them  all  to  destruction,  by  trying 
experiments  when  Pinto  was  not  by.  The  arquebus 
exploded  and  the  youth  was  seriously  injured.  For- 
tunately Pinto  was  allowed  to  attend  him — having 
already  showed  his  medical  skill  by  curing  the  Daimyo 
of  gout — and  the  young  Prince  recovered  so  rapidly 
that  Pinto  was  honored  more  than  ever.  He  taugrht 
the  armorers  how  to  make  gunpowder,  and  they  imi- 
tated his  firearms  so  well  that,  in  the  five  mouths  that 
he  .stayed,  he  declares  they  made  six  hundred  guns. 

Again  Pinto  came  on  a trading  expedition,  and  this 
time  he  took  away  two  Japanese,  who  ran  down  to 
the  shore  pursued  by  horsemen,  and,  wading  out  into 
the  surf,  begged  to  be  taken  on  board.  Ifinto  took 
them  to  the  Portuguese  settlements,  where  they  were 
(‘ducated  and  converted,  and  afterwards  returned  with 
Xavier  to  Japan.  One  of  the  two  was  the  famous 
Paul  Anjiro. 

Xavier’s  party  went  to  Kagoshima  in  Kiushiu, 
which  was  Anjiro’s  birthplace.  The  Prince  of  Sat- 


324 


JAPAN. 


suina  allowed  them  to  remain,  and  gradually  they  lx?gan 
to  preaeh,  Anjiro’s  family  being  the  finst  converts. 
Xavier’s  delight  in  the  kindly  reception  is  well  known, 
and  his  praises  of  the  people,  their  gentleness  and 
courtesy.  The  beauty  and  earnestness  of  his  own  ehar- 
aeter  must  have  carried  conviction,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  there  were  very  many  who  truly  accepted 
Christianity  as  far  as  they  understood  it,  although  the 
interest  and  a])parent  encouragement  of  the  princes 
probably  belonged  to  their  material  and  not  to  their 
spiritual  gifts.  Xavier  got  permission  to  go  to 
Kyoto,  and  did  make  the  journey  there  afoot,  under 
great  physical  difficulties ; but  the  Ashikaga  troubles 
were  absorbing  everybody,  and  he  could  make  no 
headway,  so  that,  after  two  years  spent  in  Japan,  he 
left  some  priests  and  lay  brethren  at  Yamaguchi,  on 
the  Inland  Sea,  and  returned  to  establish  a mission  in 
China,  where  he  died  shortly  after. 

Nobunaga  now  ajipears  on  the  scene,  with  his  deadly 
hatred  of  the  Buddhists  and  his  desire  to  humiliate 
them  in  any  possible  way.  The  Christian  fathers 
basked  in  his  favor  and  thought  him  in  a fair  way  to 
conversion,  but  it  is  evident  that,  like  Xavier  and  many 
others  since,  they  took  toleration  and  politeness  for 
interest  in  religion.  Xobunaga  allowed  them  to  build 
a church  at  Kyoto,  and  another  at  his  own  castle 
town  of  Akechi,  on  lake  Biwa,  evidently  for  the  sake 
of  thwarting  the  monks. 

Ilideyoshi  also  at  fir.'^t  encouraged  the  Chri.stians, 


NAGASAKI. 


325 


but  afterwards  suddenly  turned  on  them  and  issued  an 
order  for  all  priests  and  teachers  to  depart  within 
twenty  days ; and  though  the  tradei’s  were  still 
allowed  to  come,  they  were  forbidden  to  bring  any 
foreigner  who  belonged  to  a religious  order.  The 
Japanese  Christians,  however,  were  not  yet  interfered 
with. 

The  most  plausible  reason  for  this  order  is  the  usu- 
ally accepted  one,  that  Hideyoshi  heard  of  the  boast- 
ings of  a Portuguese  sea  captain,  who  said  his  king 
easily  conquered  such  countries  as  Jaj>au ; that  the 
way  he  did  was  first  to  send  out  missionaries,  who  con- 
verted the  j)Cople  to  his  religion,  and  then  to  send  an 
army,  which  joined  with  the  converts  and  got  pos.ses- 
sion  of  the  land  without  trouble.  The  boast  seemed 
so  close  to  the  facts  that  Hideyoshi  lost  no  time  in 
putting  a stop  to  it. 

Meanwhile  .some  of  the  Daimyo  along  the  Inland 
Sea  provinces  had  been  converted,  and  were  more  in- 
tolerant than  the  j>riests  of  the  native  faiths ; destrov- 
ing  temples  and  taking  from  the  Buddhists  their  reve- 
nues and  estates.  One  lord  offered  his  people  the 
choice  between  Christianity  and  banishment.  This, 
of  course,  .stirred  up  the  wrath  of  the  Buddhist  priest- 
hood against  them. 

When  Icyasu  suceeeded  to  the  Shogunate,  he  also 
at  first  allowed  the  Jesuit  fathers  to  come  to  the 
country,  and  even  gave  an  audience  at  Kyoto  to  the 
bishop ; but  shortly  after  he  sent  out  a proclamation, 


326 


JAPAN. 


l)anishing  them  and  forbidding  any  one  to  embrace 
Christianity. 

Before  this  time  the  Dutch  and  English  had 
arrived,  and  were  busily  trying  to  get  their  share  of 
trade.  The  first  comers  were  the  English  pilot, 
Adams,  and  his  Dutch  captain  and  half  a dozen 
Dutch  seamen,  who  were  driven  on  the  southern 
coast  in  a destitute  condition.  They  were  cared  for, 
and  the  captain  and  others  sent  home  on  Chinese  ves- 
.sels,  but  Adams  was  retained  to  build  ships  and  light- 
houses for  leyasu.  A Dutch  ship  followed  soon  aftcT 
and  took  home  a promise  of  trade  and  residence  and 
protection,  on  the  strength  of  Avhich  they  sent  out 
another  ship  and  established  a factory  at  Hirado. 
The  English  followed;  but,  as  Murray  says,  though 
these  two  nations  could  combine  against  the  Spanish 
and  Portuguese,  “ it  was  not  easy  for  either  of  them 
to  look  on  with  complacency  while  the  other  secured 
for  itself  advantages  in  the  matter  of  trade  suprem- 
acy.” After  an  expensive  struggle  the  English  gave 
it  up  and  retired.  Meanwhile  the  Dutch  cleverly 
worked  upon  the  Japanese  fears  of  S])anish  encroach- 
ment, and  gave  a handle  to  the  Tokugawa,  who  did 
not  wish  Satsuma  to  gain  the  advantage  that  foreign 
trade  must  have  given  them.  The  Spanish  and  Por- 
tuguese were  finally  ousted  entirely,  and  the  Dutch 
alone  permitted  to  trade  at  the  one  port  of  Nagasaki, 
well  out  of  everybody’s  way. 

Even  so,  the  conditions  were  exact  and  humiliating 


NAGASAKI. 


327 


for  the  Dutch,  and  could  only  have  been  borne  for  the 
sake  of  the  immense  profits  to  be  gained.  Their  fac- 
tory was  on  a small  artificial  island  in  the  harbor,  called 
Deshima  ; only  a certain  number  of  Hollanders  might 
come,  and  but  one  expedition  in  the  year.  They  were 
not  permitted  to  preach  or  teach,  or  to  give  or  sell 
book.s,  or  to  have  communication  with  any  Jaj)anese 
except  the  interpreters  and  other  officials  ap])ointcd  to 
take  care  of  them  and  transact  their  business  with  the 
rest.  Marvelously  beautiful  pieces  of  porcelain  reached 
Kurope  through  Dutch  hands  in  those  days,  and  such 
wonderful  pieces  of  lacquer  as  are  preserved  at  the 
(iueen’s  palace,  the  “House  in  the  Wood”  at  the 
Hague;  besides  untold  quantities  of  gold,  silv’er  and 
copper,  then  cheap  and  j)lenty  as  compared  with  later 
times,  when  this  drain  of  metals  began  to  tell  on  the 
country.  It  is  very  certain  also  that  very  many  books 
and  much  knowledge  reached  the  insatiable  Japanese 
students,  in  spite  of  the  rigid  prohibitions. 

In  leyasu’s  last  years  he  began  a determined  effort 
to  destroy  Christianity,  and  this  policy  was  continued 
by  lemitsu,  who  added  a course  of  terrible  persecu- 
tions. A price  was  set  upon  every  Christian ; children 
denounced  parents  and  jiarents  children,  while  others 
suffered  torture  and  died  for  their  faith.  Of  the  fortv 
thousand  Christians  said  to  hav'e  been  in  Xagasaki,  at 
the  end  of  three  years  the  governor  flattered  himself 
there  was  not  one  left ; all  had  either  recanted  or  fled, 
or  had  been  put  to  death.  Finding  some  still  lingered, 


328 


JAPAN. 


to  finisli  things  the  authorities  invented  the  ordeal  of 
trampling  on  tlie  cross ; the  officers  made  a house-to- 
house  inspection,  requiring  every  inmate  to  appear 
and  tread  on  a rude  crucifix  brouglit  for  the  purpose. 
Whoever  refused  was  sent  to  the  torture. 

In  desperation  over  these  persecutions,  the  remain- 
ing Christians  of  Nagasaki  and  the  neighborhood 
joined  with  the  retainers  of  the  Daimyo  of  Arima, 
whose  exactions  and  cruelty  liad  driven  them  to  revolt. 
They  took  possession  of  a strong  castle  in  Shimabara, 
and  fortified  and  provisioned  it  for  a long  siege,  know- 
ing that  if  they  were  taken  they  would  receive  no 
mercy  either  for  themselves  or  for  the  wives  and  children 
sliut  up  with  them.  A large  army  was  sent  agaiast 
the  castle,  but  could  make  no  impression ; then  the 
Sliogun  sent  to  the  Dutch,  and  asked  first  for  gun- 
powder, then  for  cannon,  and  finally  for  ships;  inform- 
ing tlicm  that  if  they  complied,  it  would  be  much  to 
the  advantage  of  their  ti’ade  in  the  future.  All  were 
sent  to  him,  and  two  Dutch  ships  came  and  bombarded 
tlie  castle  for  days,  though  with  little  effect.  It  was 
at  last  taken  by  assault,  and  every  man,  woman  and 
child  put  to  death  by  the  Shogun’s  express  order. 

From  this  time  Christianity  was  supposed  to  be 
entirely  exterminated ; yet  it  is  now  known  that  it 
lingered  secretly  in  remote  places,  chiefly  around 
Nagasaki ; and  the  Roman  Church  has  found  least 
difficulty  in  making  its  way  there,  as  if  the  people  had 
an  inherited  toleration  for  the  faith. 


NAOASAKI. 


329 


W Lea  Commodore  Perry  arrived,  all  Lis  trausac- 
tions  with  the  government  had  to  pass  through  Dutch, 
that  being  the  only  language  the  Japanese  interpreters 
understood.  Soon  after,  the  prohibitions  against  West- 
ern books  were  relaxed,  and  the  study  of  languages 
even  encouraged ; then  a naval  school  was  opened  at 
Nagasaki,  which  was  naturally  one  of  the  first  ports 
thrown  open  to  foreign  trade  and  residence.  This 
school  was  opened  in  1855,  under  the  care  of  the 
Dutch,  and  forty  students  were  permitted  to  attend, 
selected  from  eight  of  the  chief  clans ; later  twenty 
more  were  added.  One  of  the  most  prominent  pupils 
was  the  late  Count  Katsu,  whose  family  were  Hata- 
moto,  retainers  of  the  Shogun — he  Avho  took  the  first 
Japanese  ship  to  San  Francisco.  In  his  “History  of 
tlie  (Japanese)  Navy’’  Count  Katsu  tells  of  the  great 
difficulty  the  students  had  in  comprehending  wliat  the 
professors  tried  to  teach  them. 

“ The  daily  recitation  hours  began  at  eight  o’clock 
in  tlie  morning,  and  finished  at  four  in  tlie  afternoon. 
Jlesides  these  indoor  lessons,  there  was  naval  practice 
on  tlie  sliips.  It  was  not  permitted  to  take  notes  of 
anything,  but  the  students  had  to  learn  all  by  heart. 
Having  not  yet  acquired  a full  knowledge  of  foreign 
languages,  we  were  obliged  io  learn  through  interpre- 
ters, which  was  very  difficult  both  for  professors  and 
students.  Even  those  students  who  had  an  excellent 
knowledge  of  Chinese  classics,  and  were  highly  es- 
teemed by  the  other  pupils,  could  hardly  get  on  ; much 


330 


JAPAN. 


less  the  ordinary'  pupils.  After  hard  struggles  and 
patient  application  for  months,  we  were  able  by  de- 
grees to  understand  the  lessons,  and  felt  hopeful.” 
Some  years  later  a naval  school  was  established  at 
Tokyo,  and  the  Count  was  jjlaced  at  its  head ; and 
shortly  after  the  Nagasaki  school  was  di.scontinued. 

The  people  of  Naga.saki  being  less  unased  to  for- 
eigners, there  was  no  great  opposition  to  them  there, 
as  at  Yokohama,  and  students  soon  flocked  to  the 
])lace,  eager  to  acquire  all  the  learning  of  the  West, 
but  particularly  languages  and  science.  Many  of  the 
men  who  have  made  new  Japan  studied  at  Nagasaki 
in  those  days,  and  not  a few  with  a bright  young 
Hollander  who  had  come  out  in  1859  as  a mi.ssionary 
under  an  American  board.  Of  the  many  foreigners 
who  have  helped  Japan  according  to  their  ability,  the 
greate.st,  wisest,  and  therewith  the  gentlest  and  most 
unassuming  of  all,  was  Dr.  Guido  F.  Verbeck. 

Books  were  scarce  in  those  days,  and  the  eager  stu- 
dents no  less  impecunious  than  they  are  to-day.  A 
certain  young  man  named  Fukuzawa  possessed  a prize- 
— a Webster’s  dictionary — which  he  is  said  to  have 
bought  by  selling  his  mosquito  net ; and  if  you  want 
to  know  what  that  means,  spend  a warm  night  on  the 
New  Jersey  coast  when  the  wind  blows  off  the  SAvamps. 
Fukuzawa  studied  his  dictionary  all  day  and  till  ten 
o’clock  in  the  evening,  and  then  a friend  of  his  bor- 
rowed it  and  fluished  the  night.  This  young  man 
actually  made,  not  one,  but  t\\'o  copies  of  the  AA'ork, 


NAGASAKI. 


331 


one  of  which  he  sold ; his  family  cherish  the  other. 
Count  Katsii  likewise  made  two  copies  of  Webster, 
one  of  which  he  sold  for  thirty  yen,  an  exceedingly 
useful  sum  for  a poor  student.  And  yet  people  say 
the  Japanese  have  no  perseverance.  This  Fukuzawa 
was  he  who  afterwai’ds  opened  a scliool  in  a private 
house  in  Tokyo,  which  grew  into  the  great  college  in 
the  suburb  of  Mita,  and  has  influenced  thousands  of 
the  present  leaders  of  Japan.  Count  Okuma,  one  of 
the  greatest,  if  not  the  greatest  of  the  Meiji  statesmen 
who  arc  still  living,  was  long  a pupil  of  Dr.  Verbcck 
at  Nagasaki. 

There  are  many  beautiful  excursions  along  the 
shores  of  the  bay,  kuruma  rides  and  walks,  and  also 
a number  of  short  steamer  trips ; there  is  good  bath- 
in<r,  too,  throu<;h  all  the  lon<r  summer.  Tlie  town 
contains  nothing  of  great  interest,  except  the  lovely 
views ; there  are  .several  temples  of  local  celebrity, 
but  none  of  much  beauty.  They  stand  for  the  mo.st 
part  far  up  the  hill,  and  above  them  is  a grove  of 
magnificent  camphor  trees,  with  great  gnarled  boles 
that  might  be  any  age.  The  hills  and  the  sea  air 
make  Nagasaki  plea.santly  cool  even  in  summer,  and 
those  who  live  there  claim  that  it  is  not  only  the  most 
beautiful,  but  has  the  best  climate  of  all  the  five  Open 
Ports. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


KAGOSHIMA. 


“ Poverty  makes  great  men  ; 

Deeds  are  born  in  distress. 

Tlirougli  snow  are  the  plum-blossoms  white, 
Through  frosts  are  the  maj)les  red. 

If  a man  know  Heaven’s  will, 

Can  he  live  in  slothful  ease? 

“ A man  succeeds  by  overcoming  himself,  and  fails  by  loving  him- 
self. 

“ In  the  Book  of  Saden  it  is  written.  Virtue  is  the  source  of  which 
wealth  is  the  outcome.  Wealth  comes  by  re])lenishing  the  land  and 
giving  peace  to  the  people.  The  small  man  aims  at  profiting  him- 
self; the  great  man  at  profiting  the  people.  The  one  is  selfishness, 
and  it  decays;  the  other  is  pnblic-spiritedness,  and  it  prospers. 

“ Civilization  is  not  fine  houses  and  beautiful  garments,  but  an 
effectual  working  of  righteousness.” 

— Saigo’s  “Essays.”  Uchimura’s  translation. 


Kiushiu,  the  southernmost  of  the  four  large  islands 
of  Japan,  seems  to  have  gathered  into  itself  the  essen- 
tial characteristics  of  all.  Eying  almost  in  the  fork 
of  the  Black  Current,  its  lower  end  has  far  more  heat 
and  rain  than  Tokyo  or  Kyoto,  though  tiie  ditference 
in  latitude  is  hardly  more  than  between  Xew  A'ork 
and  Washington  ; while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  upper 

332 


KAGOSHIMA. 


333 


end  is  exposed  to  the  northwest  winds  and  their  brac- 
ing chill.  The  centre  of  the  island  is  a mass  of 
mountains,  and  the  only  real  lowland  is  along  the 
many  little  rivers  that  flow  down  to  the  coast.  The 
side  toward  the  Pacific  is  uncommonly  little  broken, 
for  Japan,  but  me  other  three  sides  are  cut  up  into 
deep  bays  and  islands  and  peninsulas,  all  mountainous 
and  all  green  and  picturesque.  The  principalities 
from  which  Kiushiu  gets  its  name  of  “Xine  Prov- 
inces” were  all  ranged  around  the  coast,  mountains 
forininnc  nearlv  all  of  the  dividing^  lines. 

It  is  only  a hundred  miles  as  the  crow  flics  from 
the  northwest  coast  of  Kiushiu  to  Korea,  and  be- 
tween lie  three  good-sized  islands  and  a number  of 
small  ones,  all  belonging  to  Japan.  Tsushima,  the 
largest,  which  lies  just  half-way  over,  is  named  in  the 
Knjiki  as  one  of  the  elder  children  of  Isanagi  and 
Isanami.  And  to  the  south  of  southern  Kiushiu  the 
Lu  Chu  islands  stretch  like  a line  of  .stej)ping-stones 
toward  Formo.sa  and  the  ^lalay  peniu.sula.  They 
were  considered  a dependency  of  the  I’rince  of  Sat- 
suma.  By  these  two  routes  the  migrating  tribes 
entered  who  made  the  Japanese  race;  and  Kiushiu  is 
full  of  traditions  of  the  Divine  Ancestors  and  the 
early  Emperors.  Xot  unnaturally,  too,  they  are  rep- 
resented as  leaving  that  country  and  coming  to  A"ama- 
to ; for  it  was  there  that  civilization  developed,  and 
that  records  began  to  be  preserved.  In  the  beginning 
of  the  Kyoto  period,  when  Michizane  was  exiled  to 


334 


JAPAN, 


Dazaifu,  all  Kiushiu  was  a half-barbarous  countr}', 
little  influenced  by  the  Chinese  civilization  that  had 
already  transformed  the  region  at  the  head  of  the 
Inland  Sea. 

It  was  on  the  coast,  only  a few  miles  from  Dazaifu, 
that  Kublai  Khan’s  armada  was  utterly  defeated  and 
destroyed.  This  was  the  second  invasion ; the  first 
was  several  years  earlier,  and  that,  too,  was  driven 
back,  chiefly  by  a storm,  after  doing  much  damage 
in  the  midway  islands,  Tsushima  and  Iki.  The 
defences,  hastily  raised  along  the  coast  of  Kiushiu, 
were  mere  parapets  of  earth  or  loose  stones,  breast 
high,  and  only  intended  as  a shelter  for  the  bowmen. 
The  Japanese  expected  to  fight  hand  to  hand,  in  single 
combat,  as  they  had  always  done;  but  the  IMongols 
landed  in  compact  bodies  and  bore  down  the  knights 
by  mere  weight  of  numbers,  while  from  the  ships  they 
discharged  poisoned  arrows  and  stones  from  catapults, 
as  the  Venetians  had  taught  them,  and  “balls  of  fire, 
that  exploded  as  they  fell.”  Still  the  Japanese  slew 
many,  and  at  last  a bowman  shot  down  their  leader,  a 
tall  man  in  red  armor ; and  a storm  that  night  destroy- 
ing many  of  tlieir  ships,  they  sailed  away. 

INIore  embassies  followed,  but  were  either  returned 
with  scornful  messages  or  beheaded  at  Kamakura  or 
Dazaifu  ; and  meanwhile  the  Regent,  Hojo  Tokimune, 
built  ships  and  prepared  better  defences.  The  second 
expedition  was  enormous  ; the  Japanese  say  there  were 
over  one  hundred  thousand  ships  sailing  from  Korea, 


KAGOSHIMA. 


335 


Again  they  landed  at  Tsushima  and  Iki,  and  swept 
everything  before  them ; but  when  they  reached  Kin- 
shin  they  were  met  by  a considerable  fleet  of  small, 
swift  boats,  which  hung  on  their  flanks  and  made  sud- 
den dashes,  doing  much  damage.  Various  e.xploits 
are  recorded.  Two  brothers  went  out  with  a handful 
of  followers,  set  fire  to  five  junks,  and  came  safely 
back  with  twenty-one  Chinese  heads.  Another  ship 
went  out,  and,  by  cutting  her  masts  and  letting  them 
fall  across  the  Chinese  vessel,  the  knights  boarded  her. 
This  was  the  kind  of  fighting  they  understood,  and 
on  the  crowded  decks  the  ^longols  were  no  match 
for  the  swift  Japanese  swordsmen.  But  again  it  was 
the  storm  tliat  finished  the  work — one  of  the  sudden 
terrible  typhoons  of  the  Japan  Sea,  rising  from  a clear 
sky ; or,  so  they  believe,  in  response  to  the  EmperoBs 
prayers  at  the  holy  shrine  of  Ise.  The  clumsy, 
crowded  junks  were  driven  against  each  other,  “ like 
l)ulls,”  and  ground  to  piece.s,  or  dashed  against  the 
coast ; those  that  the  sea  cast  up  the  Japanese  slew. 
A few  escaped  to  the  islands ; but  the  Japanese  pur- 
sued and  killed  them,  except  three,  who  were  .spared 
to  carry  home  the  news  to  their  Emperor.  Tlie 
prestige  of  the  throne  was  considerably  inert'a.sed,  for 
all  the  people  believed  that  the  Emperor’s  prayers  had 
saved  them. 

Splendid  camphor  trees  have  always  been  the  glory 
of  Kiushiu,  and  in  old  times  they  were  carefully 
guarded  ; but  since  projK'rty  has  gone  into  the  hands  of 


336 


JAPAN. 


many  individual  owners,  the  trees  are  being  grievously 
wasted.  In  some  parts  of  the  country  they  use  wild 
tea,  letting  the  hushes  grow  in  waste  places,  and  burn- 
ing off  the  shrub  when  it  gets  too  high.  Xaturally, 
the  tea  is  very  poor  stuff,  and  only  used  for  making 
the  coarse  “ block  tea,”  put  up  for  export  to  the  Rus- 
sian peasants.  Sulphur  is  another  product  of  Kiu- 
shiu,  for  the  island  has  a full  supply  of  volcanoes  and 
boiling  springs.  The  great  volcano,  Aso  San,  has  an 
immense  crater,  ten  to  fourteen  miles  across,  inside  of 
which  there  are  a great  number  of  villages,  besides  a 
modern  crater  sending  out  frequent  small  showers  of 
ashes.  The  mountain  is  over  five  thousand  feet  high, 
and  two  small  rivers  flow  out  of  the  crater  through  a 
break  in  the  wall,  which  the  mountain  god  obligingly 
kicked  open  to  make  an  outlet  for  the  water  and  leave 
the  fields  dry  for  the  use  of  men.  Aso  San  is  nearly 
in  the  centre  of  the  northern  half  of  Kiushiu,  about 
twenty  miles  from  Kumamoto,  the  capital  of  Higo, 
which  Hearn  has  made  so  familiar.  The  college  in 
Avhich  he  served  still  prospei's,  and  the  students  have 
the  reputation  of  being  fine  fellows,  albeit  somewhat 
rough  and  quick-tempered,  as  is  the  Kumamoto  way. 

The  truth  is  that  Kiushiu  has  always  kept  a rather 
independent  attitude  toward  the  rest  of  the  country. 
Not  that  the  princes  were  disloyal  to  the  Emperor ; 
they  were  at  least  as  faithful  as  those  who  controlled 
the  throne ; but  they  did  not  readily  come  under  the 
sway  of  the  Kwanto.  One  of  the  tasks  Hideyoshi 


KAGOSHIMA. 


337 


set  himself  was  the  conquest  of  Kiushiu ; this  clone, 
he  was  ready  to  attack  Korea  and  China,  And  of  all 
the  Daimyo,  Satsuma  was  the  most  restive — the  least 
inclined  to  be  submissive  to  the  Tokugawa  Shoguns. 

Certainly  they  were  well  out  of  the  Shogun’s  way. 
The  province  occupies  the  lower  western  corner  of  the 
island ; its  southern  part,  Satsuma  proper,  lying 
between  the  Japan  Sea  and  a great  arm  of  the  Pacific, 
forty  miles  long  and  ten  wide,  which  divides  the  lower 
half  of  Satsuma  from  the  neighboring  province  of 
Osuini,  which  also  belonged  to  Satsuma  after  the  fif- 
teenth century.  Kagoshima,  the  Daimyo’s  castle 
town,  is  on  this  arm  of  the  sea,  directly  opposite  the 
volcanic  island  of  Sakurajima,  Tradition  lias  it  that 
on  the  top  of  this  mountain  island,  Xinigi,  grandson 
of  the  Sun  Goddess,  landed,  when  he  came  down 
from  heaven  to  subdue  and  govern  Japan ; and  on  the 
place  where  he  touched  the  earth  he  set  up  a heav- 
enly spear,  which  is  still  there,  just  where  he  thrust  it 
into  the  ground.  It  is  made  of  bronze,  and  certainly 
is  very  old.  Perhaps  the  sword  which  Amaterasu 
bestowed  on  him  was  a better  one,  and  more  worthy 
of  being  left  to  his  descendants.  Tllis  region  is  warm 
and  wet,  and  on  the  lower  parts  of  the  hills  they  raise 
a great  deal  of  sugar-cane,  oranges  and  grape-fruit, 
which  last  are  known  as  pomineloes  by  the  foreigners 
in  the  Far  East.  The.se  southern  ones  are  very  good  ; 
those  grown  farther  north  are  apt  to  be  pithy  and 
ta.stelass.  For  some  reason,  no  one  raises  lemons  in 
VoL.  IL— 22 


338 


JAPAN, 


Japan ; all  that  one  can  get  there  are  imported  from 
the  Bonin  islands,  or  even  from  Honolulu. 

The  only  way  to  reach  Kagoshima  is  by  sea,  in  a 
long  day  from  Nagasaki,  or  in  forty  hours  from  Kobe. 
This  last  is  said  to  be  an  exceedingly  beautiful  trip, 
but  as  there  is  only  Japanese  food  to  be  had,  only 
those  "who  are  well  used  to  the  country'  are  wise  to 
venture.  The  other  way  takes  you  out  of  the  deep 
pocket  of  Nagasaki  harbor,  down  the  west  coast  in 
view  of  mountainous  islands  and  the  lower,  yet 
greener  shore  of  Satsuma,  around  Cape  Nomo,  along 
the  southern  coast,  and  so  into  the  long  gulf  leading 
up  to  the  port.  Just  at  the  entrance  of  the  gulf,  on 
the  Satsuma  side,  is  the  beautiful  active  volcano  Kai- 
mondake,  known  as  the  Satsuma  Fuji.  The  form  is 
really  almost  exactly  like  the  real  Fuji,  only  on  a 
smaller  scale.  It  is  a little  over  three  thousand  feet 
high,  and  three  sides  of  it  rise  directly  out  of  the  sea. 
On  both  sides  of  the  gulf  the  mountains  are  very  near, 
and  even  in  the  harbor  the  water  is  so  deep  that  ves- 
sels cannot  anchor  except  close  in  shore. 

Kagoshima  is  a picturesque,  attractive  town,  with 
wide,  clean  streets  and  an  active,  industrious  popula- 
tion. It  was  here,  or  at  least  in  a certain  suburb  of 
the  town,  that  the  famous  Satsuma  ware  was  made, 
under  the  express  patronage  of  the  Daimyo,  for  whom 
all  the  best  pieces  were  produced,  either  for  his  own 
use  or  to  serve  as  gifts,  of  which  the  princes  had 
always  to  prepare  a goodly  store  for  all  sorts  of  occa- 


KAGOSHIMA.  339 

sions.  A little  of  the  pottery  is  made  there  still,  but 
no  longer  as  in  feudal  times. 

INIost  of  the  city  is  comparatively  new,  rebuilt  since 
1863,  when  the  British  fleet  of  seven  vessels  bom- 
barded it,  as  the  only  way  to  obtain  satisfaction  for 
tlie  death  of  the  Englishman  Richardson — he  who 
insisted  on  riding  in  among  the  Prince  of  Satsuma’s 
train  on  the  Tokaido,  and  was  cut  down  by  Satsuma’s 
retainers.  It  was  in  the  middle  of  August,  and  a 
furious  typhoon  was  blowing,  but  the  ships  destroyed 
all  the  Satsuma  batteries  and  burned  most  of  the  town. 
After  this  the  Prince  of  Satsuma  saw  the  necessity  of 
yielding  for  the  present,  and  of  studying  the  ways  of 
foreign  warfare.  This  attitude  of  Satsuma  had  much 
to  do  with  the  policy  of  the  imperial  government 
towards  the  foreign  Powers  after  the  Restoration. 

The  Satsuma  men  are  the  Spartans  of  Japan  ; they 
have  always  prided  themselves  on  being  made  of 
sterner  stuff  than  other  Samurai,  and  to  this  day  they 
are  simpler  in  their  habits  and  more  blunt  in  manner. 
Satsuma  students  in  Tokyo  love  to  go  about  in  wintry 
weather  clad  in  the  shortest  possible  garment,  the 
heavy  blue  and  white  linen  or  cotton  of  their  native 
province,  and  with  bare  feet  thrust  into  a pair  of  geta. 
Indeed,  in  the  old  days  the  practice  of  music  was 
especially  enjoined  on  Satsuma  Samurai  as  a means  of 
softening  their  fiery  natures. 

There  is  a tradition  that  during  the  period  of  Yori- 
tonio’s  exile,  while  he  was  half  guest,  half  prisoner  in 


340 


JAPAN. 


the  territory  of  the  Daimyo  of  Izu,  he  secretly  mar- 
ried that  prince’s  daughter.  AVhen  it  was  discov^ered, 
tlie  Daimyo  was  greatly  enraged.  Yoritomo  escaped 
to  another  j)rovince,  and  his  wife  and  child  were  con- 
demned to  death ; but  a faithful  retainer  saved  the 
boy,  who  grew  up  and  became  the  ancestor  of  the 
Shimadzu  family,  the  lords  of  Satsuma.  AVhether  this 
is  true  or  not,  the  family  dates  from  Yoritomo’s  cen- 
tury, and  by  Ilideyoshi’s  time  had  taken  possession 
of  a good  deal  of  their  neighbors’  property,  as  well 
as  their  own.  Part  of  this  Ilideyoshi  t<X)k  from 
them,  but  left  them  Osumi  and  most  of  Ilyuga,  be- 
sides Satsuma  itself.  Their  power  at  this  time  and 
later  rose  largely  from  their  contact  with  the  outside 
Avorld.  It  was  on  the  island  of  Tanegashiina  that 
Pinto  first  landed  with  his  gifts  of  firearms,  and  trade 
with  China  and  Korea  also  flourished  during  all  that 
jK'i’iod,  till  the  Tokugawa  put  a stop  to  it  by  closing 
the  country  absolutely.  Repressed  for  three  centuries, 
since  the  Restoration  Satsuma  has  led  the  way  in 
almost  every  change,  and  the  three  allied  clans  who 
brought  about  the  Restoration — Satsuma,  Choshu  and 
Tosa — still  furnish  the  strongest  and  ablest  representa- 
tives in  the  government. 

Riding  out  from  Kagoshima  to  the  cemeteries,  one 
cannot  but  be  imjiressed  with  the  appalling  sacrifice 
of  life  those  stones  represent.  It  seems  as  if  half  a 
generation  of  Satsuma  men  must  have  fallen,  and 
almost  as  many  from  the  rest  of  the  provinces ; and 


KAGOSHIMA.  341 

witli  them  lies  the  best  and  bravest  of  all,  the  great 
General  Saigo. 

Saigo  was  a typical  Satsnma  Samurai,  blunt,  unpol- 
ished, a man  of  iron,  yet  tender  as  a woman ; above 
all,  a man  who  followed  absolutely  the  dictates  of  his 
conscience.  It  is  said  that  he  was  a slow,  silent  boy, 
so  stupid-looking  that  his  companions  nicknamed  him 
the  idiot.  He  was  still  only  a child  when  he  was 
called  upon  to  witness  the  harakiri  of  a distant 
relative,  who,  before  lifting  the  dagger,  spoke  to 
the  boy  of  a life  of  devotion  to  his  master  and  his 
country.  Young  Saigo  wept,  and  the  impression 
never  left  him. 

Even  as  a boy,  he  loved  to  roam  by  himself  in  the 
mountains,  and  wrestling  and  all  muscular  sports  de- 
lighted him.  He  studied  the  stoical  Zen  philosophy, 
“ to  kill  my  too  keen  sensibilities,”  he  told  a friend ; 
but  the  greatest  influence  of  his  life  was  the  doctrine 
of  the  Chinese  Wan  Yang  Ming,  of  whom  Uchimura 
says,  “Of  all  Chinese  philosophers,  he  came  nearest  to 
the  Christian  faith,  in  his  great  doctrines  of  conscience 
and  benign  but  inexorable  heavenly  law.s,”  and  Dr. 
Xitobe,  “Western  readers  will  ea.sily  recognize  in  his 
writings  many  parallels  to  the  Xew  Testament.” 

Mdiile  still  a young  man,  Saigo  went  up  to  Yedo, 
and  there  came  under  the  influence  of  one  of  the  Mito 
clan,  from  whom  he  probably  absorbed  the  dominating 
ideas  of  his  life — a united  Japan,  and  the  extension  of 
its  dominion  over  Korea,  and  perhaps  even  China,  “sc 


342 


JAPAN. 


as  to  enable  the  land  to  stand  on  equal  terms  with 
Europe.” 

From  these  two  ideals  he  never  wavered.  "When 
he  led  the  imperial  army  against  the  Tokugawa,  it  was 
to  put  an  end  to  the  dual  system  and  unite  the  empire 
under  its  rightful  head ; and  he  was  willing  even  to 
tolerate  foreign  ways  for  a time,  in  order  that  Japan 
might  learn  all  that  Avas  necessary  to  make  her  as 
strong  as  the  European  jx)wers. 

His  first  quarrel  with  the  government  came  soon. 
Korea  had  not  received  the  notice  of  the  changes  in 
Japan  with  proper  respect;  Saigo  wished  to  chastise 
her,  and  bring  her  into  subjection  to  Japan.  He 
wished  to  convey  an  embassy  to  Korea,  and  if  she  did 
not  show  the  proper  spirit,  he  Avas  ready  to  lead  an 
army  to  instruct  her.  At  first  the  leaders  of  the  Cabi- 
net (of  Avhich  he  AA^as  a member)  Avere  persuaded  by 
him ; but  just  then  Baron  lAvakura  started  on  his  em- 
bassy to  tbe  Vienna  exposition,  and  came  back  deeply 
imbued  Avith  the  need  of  internal  deA’elopment  along 
European  lines ; the  Korea  expedition  was  put  aside, 
and  Saigo  resigned  in  disgust  and  went  back  home, 
there  to  brood  OA^er  the  demoralizing  effect  of  AVestem 
influences — AA'hich  were  only  too  apparent — and  to  train 
a band  of  young  men  who  came  to  him  and  put  them- 
selves under  his  teaching,  both  as  general  and  moralist. 
It  was  these  young  men,  and  not  Saigo  himself,  who 
precipitated  the  Satsuma  rebellion.  He  joined  it,  in 
tlie  faint  hope  of  being  able  to  prcA’ent  AA'hat  he  firmly 


; 


■/‘i  •■« 


. ’ •■  * 

, ...  ' A 


■\ , 


%f 


1 


KAGOSHIMA. 


343 


believed  to  be  the  ruin  of  his  country,  and  his  prestige 
and  ability  made  it  an  eight  months’  struggle  before 
the  government  army  finally  routed  them  at  Nobeoka, 
where  eight  thousand  gave  themselves  up  with  the 
town.  Saigo  and  a few  others  fought  their  way  back 
to  Kagoshima,  to  be  buried  in  their  fiathers’  graves,” 
aud  entrenched  them.selves  on  the  castle  hill  over 
against  the  town  for  a last  resistance.  There,  while 
waiting  for  the  attack,  Saigo  plunged  into  a game  of 
^o,  the  Japanese  chess,  which  is  said  to  be  even  more 
.scientific  and  intricate  than  the  Western  game.  The 
next  day  the  imperial  foi’ces  stormed  the  hill,  and  the 
little  band  was  soon  cut  to  pieces.  Saigo  was  wounded, 
and  retiring  to  a cave,  took  his  life  in  true  Samurai 
fashion ; and  the  remnant  of  his  band  followed  his 
example. 

Uchimura  gives  many  anecdotes  of  Saigo’s  kindli- 
ness and  the  simplicity  of  his  tastes.  When  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  of  the  army,  and  member  of  the 
Cabinet,  he  lived  in  a shabby  little  house  in  Tokyo, 
and  could  not  be  induced  to  dress  otherwi.se  than  as  an 
ordinary  soldier,  “ his  usual  costume  being  Satsuma 
spun  cotton  stuff,  girdled  with  a broad  cotton  ohi,  and 
large  wooden  clogs  on  his  feet.”  One  day,  as  he  went 
out  of  the  palace  after  an  imperial  dinner  (this  was 
before  the  days  of  European  dress  at  Court),  he  missed 
his  clogs,  which  he  had  left  at  the  palace  gate ; so,  not 
wishing  to  trouble  any  one,  he  walked  quietly  out  into 
the  rain  without  them.  The  guard  at  the  gate,  not  being 


344 


JAPAN, 


used  to  barefoot  men  in  cotton  clothes  at  that  entrance, 
asked  his  name ; and  when  he  gave  it,  declined  to  be- 
lieve him.  At  that  moment  Baron  Iwakura  came  out 
in  his  carriage,  and  picked  the  General  up  to  take  him 
home,  before  the  eyes  of  the  astonished  sentinel.  It 
is  said  that  Saigo  gave  the  site  for  the  first  national 
bank,  refusing  to  accept  payment.  Gifts  he  would 
never  receive,  unless  they  pertained  to  dogs ; there  he 
was  vulnerable. 

One  moi'e  story  of  Saigo’s  youth.  After  he  returned 
from  his  first  visit  to  Ycdo,  he  identified  himself  with 
the  anti-Tokugawa  party,  and  thus  it  happened  that 
one  of  the  Imperialists  came  to  him  for  shelter — a 
learned  priest  whom  the  Tokugawa  had  condemned  to 
death  for  his  political  utterances.  Finding  that  the 
priest  was  discovered  and  would  certainly  be  taken, 
Saigo  decided  that  honor  required  him  to  die  with  his 
guest ; so  the  two  slipped  out  into  the  night,  and  after 
pausing  a few  moments  to  enjoy  the  moonlight  on  the 
sea,  they  took  hands  and  plunged  in.  Their  friends 
heard  the  splash,  and  went  to  search  for  them ; the 
bodies  were  found;  Saigo  was  revived,  and  accepted 
life  as  the  will  of  heaven. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


FORMOSA.* 

Last  year  Formosa  celebrated  her  sixth  Japanese 
birthday,  tlie  anniversary  of  the  treaty  of  Shiinon- 
oseki,  by  which  the  island  was  ceded  to  Japan  as  part 
of  China’s  indemnity  for  the  war. 

Geographically,  Japan  claims  that  Formosa  ought 
of  riojht  to  belong  to  her,  because  it  is  the  last  in  the 
line  of  islands  that  begins  with  the  Kuriles,  away  up 
on  the  edge  of  the  arctic  circle,  and  continues  on 
down  past  Kiiishiu,  by  the  Lu  Chu  islands,  to  within 
two  hundred  miles  of  the  top  of  Formosa.  For  that 
matter,  both  Japan  and  China  long  laid  claim  to  the 
Lu  Chu  islands,  and  they  compromised  by  paying 
nominal  tribute  to  both,  until  the  last  century,  when 
Japan  got  decidedly  the  upper  hand.  At  last  she  made 
a clever  move,  which  settled  her  claim  positively.  In 
1871  a party  of  Luchuans  were  wrecked  on  the  east 

* It  was  the  wish  of  the  publishers  that  this  chapter  should  be 
written  by  Dr.  Inazo  Nitob4,  head  of  the  Bureau  of  Products  and 
Industries  in  Formosa.  As  this  proved  impossible,  Mrs.  NitobS  has 
kindly  given  me  access  to  numerous  personal  letters  from  Dr.  Nitob4, 
on  which  I have  drawn  freely  in  preparing  the  following  pages. 

345 


346 


JAPAN. 


coast  of  Formosa  and  killed  by  savages  or  brigands, 
and  Japan  sent  to  demand  indemnity  from  China. 
China  shuffled  and  evaded,  in  her  usual  manner,  say- 
ing that  she  did  not  undertake  jurisdietion  on  the  east 
coast.  Japan  then  sent  an  expedition,  under  the 
])resent  Marcpiis  Saigo,  brother  of  the  great  general. 
So  wisely  did  he  deal  with  the  islanders,  that  to  this 
day  his  name  is  remembered  and  honored  by  the 
tribes,  and  in  one  district,  when  the  children  wish  to 
express  delight,  they  clap  their  hands  and  cry,  “Saigo! 
Saigo ! ” General  Grant  offered  to  mediate  between 
Japan  and  China,  and  so  did  the  British  minister  at 
Pekin,  and  the  result  was  that  Japan  retired  from 
Formosa,  with  her  claim  on  Lu  Chu  fully  acknowl- 
edged ; and  China,  as  usual,  remained  more  puffed  up 
than  ever  for  the  encounter. 

Formosa,  or  Taiwan,  as  the  Japanese  call  it,  is  two 
hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  long  and  about  eighty 
wide.  It  lies  from  a little  north  of  latitude  25°  to  a 
few  miles  south  of  latitude  22°,  the  tropic  of  Cancer 
crossing  it  rather  below  the  middle.  All  the  centre 
and  east  side — in  fact,  all  the  island  except  the  west 
coast — is  a mass  of  mountains ; two  peaks.  Mount 
Silvia  and  Mount  Morrison,  reaching  twelve  thousand 
eitrlit  hundred  and  fourteen  thousand  three  hundred 
feet  respectively.  A little  snow  lies  on  the  higher 
peaks  for  a few  months,  but  that  is  all.  The  For- 
mosans say  that  the  gods  used  to  play  chess  on  the 
summits  of  the  mountains,  and  that  a large  flat  stone 


FORMOSA.  347 

was  their  chess-board.  All  these  mountains  are  cov- 
ered with  dense  primeval  forest,  great  quantities  of 
enormous  camphor  laurels  and  other  valuable  trees, 
and  among  them  a tropical  tangle  of  undei’growth 
and  vines ; especially  the  rattan,  so  much  used  in 
making  furniture  in  China,  and  for  this  and  a great 
many  other  purposes  in  Formosa.  The  tree  grows  to 
a lieight  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  and  then  begins  to 
send  out  the  long,  vine-like  branches,  which  grow 
hundreds  of  feet  over  the  branches  of  neighboring 
trees.  The  Chinese  go  into  the  forests  after  it,  and, 
while  they  are  pulling  down  the  long  streamers,  they 
became  an  easy  prey  to  the  watchful  head-hunters. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  island  there  is  a great  deal 
of  exceedingly  fertile  plain,  very  little  raised  above 
the  sea,  in  wliich  small  hills  stand  up  like  mounds 
here  and  there.  Tliese  were  probably  islands,  which 
have  been  gradually  surrounded  by  the  waste  brought 
down  from  the  mountains  and  piled  up  by  the  waves 
in  the  furious  summer  storms.  In  this  way  the  coast 
is  all  the  time  changing ; places  that  were  on  the  sea 
a few  years  ago  are  now  a mile  or  two  iidand.  Across 
this  plain  many  small  rivers  come  down  from  the 
mountains,  all  of  them  having  immenselv  wide  beds — 
there  is  one  in  the  southwest  that  is  three  miles  across 
— and,  after  a storm,  they  become  raging,  destructive 
torrents. 

It  is  not  only  that  Formo.sa  lies  j)artly  in  the  tropics; 
it  is  also  almost  in  the  path  of  the  typhoons,  which. 


348 


JAPAN. 


indeed,  do  not  spend  their  full  force  on  the  island 
itself,  but  on  the  Formosa  channel  to  the  west,  where 
the  Pescadores  lie  between  Formosa  and  the  Chinese 
coast.  They,  too,  were  ceded  to  Japan  in  1895.  On 
the  east  side  the  worst  storms  sheer  off  somewhat,  and 
the  northern  part  of  the  island  is  comparatively  shel- 
tered by  tlie  mountains ; but  navigation  in  this  region 
is  prov'erbially  dangerous,  especially  in  summer — as 
the  old  New  England  sea  captains  used  to  say  : 

“ July,  stand  by  ; 

August,  you  must; 

September,  remember; 

October,  all  over.” 


The  Black  Current  is  largely  responsible  for  the 
heat  and  dampness — that  same  Kuro-shiwo  that  makes 
the  softness  and  beauty  of  Japan.  It  flows  along  the 
very  edge  of  Formosa,  only  a few  hundred  feet  out- 
side in  some  places  on  the  east  coast,  and  the  deep 
blue  color  is  plainly  marked  against  the  lighter  tint 
of  the  ordinary  sea.  Its  moisture-laden  winds  strike 
against  the  mountains  and  discharge  sudden  torrents 
of  rain,  flooding  streams  and  doing  immense  damage. 
The  west  coast  is  less  deluged  than  the  east ; but  that, 
too,  gets  a very  rainy  season  for  three  months,  from 
about  the  middle  of  January. 

The  result  is  a luxuriant  tropical  vegetation ; all 
southern  trees  and  fruits  flourish — palms,  bananas, 
pineapples,  sugar-cane,  and  all  the  rest,  besides  peaches 


FORMOSA. 


349 


and  many  fruits  and  vegetables  which  properly  belong 
farther  north,  and  pine  and  chestnut  and  other  such 
trees  on  the  higher  slopes  of  the  mountains.  Two 
crops  of  rice  are  grown  in  a year — sometimes  five  in 
three  years ; but,  though  the  soil  is  exceedingly  rich, 
these  two  crops  do  not  yield  as  much  as  the  one  crop 
in  Japan,  probably  for  want  of  proper  cultivation. 
With  all  this  fertility  comes  the  inevitable  malaria  and 
kindred  diseases  of  heat  and  moisture,  and  frequent 
visitations  of  cholera  and  sometimes  plague — this  last 
the  hardest  possible  thing  to  stamp  out  where  there  is 
a large  population  of  Chinese,  with  their  ineradicable 
love  of  dirt  and  darkness.  Yet  even  in  these  six  yeai’s 
the  effect  of  Japanese  sanitation  is  very  marked,  and  if 
the  mosquito  can  be  proved  guilty  of  malaria  and  by 
any  means  defeated,  the  worst  material  difficulty  will 
be  overcome.  The  Japanese  doctors  say  that  the  fevers 
are  seldom  fatal,  and  that,  if  taken  in  hand  quickly, 
an  attack  seldom  lasts  over  two  or  three  weeks.  The 
south  is  mucli  worse  than  tlie  north,  perhaps  because 
the.  upper  part  of  the  island  is  more  hilly  and  has 
better  natural  drainage.  When  the  interior  can  be 
opened  up,  it  will  be  ])ossible  to  liave  health  refuges 
on  the  mountains,  which  are  now  given  over  to  the 
savage  abori«:ines. 

Though  Japanese  pirates  probably  visited  For- 
mosa at  many  periods  of  their  history,  they  do  not 
seem  to  have  had  much  to  do  with  the  island,  except 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  and  the  early 


350 


JAPAN. 


seventeenth  century — that  wonderful  period  of  expan- 
sion, wlien  Japan  not  only  welcomed  the  Portuguese 
traders,  but  herself  sent  embassies  to  Europe  and 
trading  expeditions  to  China,  Siam,  and  even  to 
Mexico,  and  when  Japanese  pirates  were  the  terror 
of  the  coast. 

At  this  time  there  were  already  a considerable  num- 
ber of  Chinese  in  Formosa.  They  probably  went  there 
always  to  some  extent ; but  the  first  recorded  visit 
was  in  the  twelfth  century,  when  a Chinese  official 
was  wrecked  on  the  coast.  He  found  a barbarous  but 
kindly  population,  who  helped  him  and  his  com- 
panions to  repair  their  vessel  and  get  safely  away. 
The  next  to  come  was  a Chinese  pirate,  who  took 
refuge  there  from  a fleet  of  war  junks.  He  found  the 
island  much  to  his  liking,  and,  with  other  pirates, 
made  it  his  headquarters.  To  make  themselves 
respected,  they  killed  many  of  the  savages  and 
smeared  the  ships  with  their  blood,  thereby  beginning 
the  abiding  hatred  of  the  islanders  for  the  Chinese. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  Japanese  pirates  and 
adventurers  also  settled  in  Formosa  and  made  colonies 
of  a sort.  Thus,  when  the  Europeans  arrived,  there 
Avas  already  a considerable  population  of  Chinese  and 
Japanese  on  the  island. 

The  Portuguese  were  first  to  reach  there,  and  they 
bestowed  the  name  Formosa — beautiful — which  Avill 
probably  remain  to  it  in  all  European  tongue.s,  instead 
of  Taiwan,  the  Chinese  name,  which  is  also  used  by 


FORMOSA. 


351 


Japan.  The  Portuguese  did  not  settle,  but  the  Dutch 
did,  in  1624,  and  they  proceeded  to  annex  the  island 
and  also  to  attempt  to  convert  it.  But  their  record  in 
Formosa  is  not  a bright  one;  they  were  harsh  and 
exacting  towards  the  people,  and  the  Japanese  soon 
withdrew.  The  Chinese  and  Formosans  seem  to  have 
submitted  to  taxations  and  other  requirements,  but  it 
is  probable  that  they  joined  the  Chinese  pirate,  who 
drove  out  the  Dutch  only  about  fifty  years  later. 

This  was  one  Koxinaga  or  Koxinga,  the  son  of  a 
Formosan  pirate  and  a Japanese  woman.  The  father 
fought  against  the  Manchus,  who  overthrew  the  Ming 
dynasty  and  established  the  present  one  at  Pekin,  and 
was  taken  by  them  and  put  to  death.  The  son  fought 
under  him,  and  afterwards  overran  the  coasts,  but  find- 
ing himself  unable  to  oppose  the  INIanchus  on  land,  he 
retired  to  Formosa,  and  proclaimed  himself  an  inde- 
])endent  sovereign  there.  His  successors,  however, 
were  conquered  by  the  Manchus  about  twelve  years 
later,  and  from  that  time  the  island  was  considered 
a part  of  the  Chinese  empire — a dependency  of  the 
neighboring  province  of  Fohkien.  It  was  adminis- 
tered by  a Taotai — ‘‘  intendant  of  circuit,”  Pickering 
calls  him — who  resided  at  Taiwanfu,  and  was  under 
the  final  control  of  the  viceroy  of  Fohkien.  The 
viceroy  was  supposed  to  make  periodic  visits  of  inspec- 
tion, but  if  it  was  made  worth  his  while  he  would 
stay  away.  Pickering  tells  of  the  alarm  when  on  one 
occasion  the  viceroy  sent  word  that  he  was  really 


352 


JAPAN. 


coming.  There  was  a great  scurrying  round  to  smooth 
things  up  for  liis  examination,  and,  among  the  rest, 
orders  were  given  to  take  down  the  war  junks'  and 
have  them  ready.  Now  these  junks  were  beached 
when  not  in  use,  and  were  supposed  to  be  floated  and 
othenvise  examined  and  repaired  at  due  intervals; 
but  the  officials  had  been  sy. sterna tically  appropriating 
the  funds  provided  for  the  purpose,  and  the  vessels 
had  not  been  disturbed  for  many  years,  and  mean- 
while the  sea  had  receded,  leaving  them  a mile 
inland.  Preparations  were  being  made  to  put  them 
on  rollers  and  haul  them  down  to  the  water,  when  a 
message  came  that  the  viceroy  had  giv^en  up  his  visit, 
and  they  were  left  to  rot  peaceably,  as  before. 

This  is  only  a specimen  of  the  way  things  have 
been  done  in  Formosa  for  centuries.  Being  well  out 
of  the  way,  the  officials  had  an  even  freer  hand  for 
extortion  than  on  the  mainland ; and  in  not  a few 
cases  they  Avere  characters  unscrupulous  even  beyond 
the  ordinary  Chinese  official — men  Avho  had  been  sent 
there  to  be  conveniently  disposed  of.  It  was  notoi’ious 
that  criminals  Avere  sometimes  released  on  the  condi- 
tion that  they  Avould  go  to  Formosa,  and  the  island 
Avas  used  as  a political  dumping  ground  for  genera- 
tions. Justice  Avas  an  affair  of  the  highest  bidder, 
and  the  substitution  of  one  man  for  another  aaIio 
could  pay  Avell  Avas  a perfectly  undisguised  method  of 
escaping  ])unishment.  Brigandage  AA'as  unchecked ; 
villages  often  paid  blackmail  to  the  bands  to  be  let 


FORMOSA. 


353 


alone.  They  would  hide  in  the  long  gra.ss  or  the 
sugar-cane,  and  fire  on  the  passers-by,  so  that  in  some 
parts  of  the  country  the  people  were  forbidden  to 
plant  tall  crops  within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  road. 
Even  at  the  present  day  the  Japanese  government  is 
having  hard  work  to  put  down  these  brigands. 

In  1860  the  treaty  of  Tientsin  opened  the  principal 
ports  for  foreign  trade,  and  a number  of  merchants 
settled  there,  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  exporting  tea 
and  camphor.  Their  tribulations  with  the  Chinese 
merchants  and  officials  are  forciblv  told  in  Pickering’s 
entertaining  book,  “ Pioneering  in  Formosa.”  In 
1884  the  French  blockaded  the  ports  during  their  war 
with  China,  and  bombarded  Keluug,  doing  a great 
deal  of  unnecessary  damage,  and  gaining  little  or 
nothing  for  themselves. 

There  are  four  distinct  classes  of  people  in  the 
island,  exclusive  of  the  Japanese,  who  are  nearly  all 
newcomers.  They  are,  first,  the  aborigines,  who  are 
divided  into  wild  tribes  and  half-civilized ; then  the 
Hoklos,  Chinese  settlers  from  Fohkien  and  Amoy; 
and  the  Ilakkas,  lawle.ss  Chinese,  who  came  to  the 
jirovince  of  C’ant<m  some  generations  ago,  and  from 
there  to  Formos:^,  where  they  have  been  and  are  one 
of  the  most  troublesome  elements  to  deal  with. 

The  aborigines  are  almost  certainly  of  Malay 
descent,  and  mu.st  have  reached  Formosa  from  the 
islands  farther  south,  probably  in  small  and  often 
repeated  bands ; many,  no  doubt,  drifted  there  by 
VoL.  II.— 23 


354 


JAPAN. 


accident  in  the  strong  currents  that  set  along  the 
shore  from  farther  south.  They  speak  a great  many 
dialects,  mutually  incomprehensible,  and  the  hill  tribes 
enjoy  much  fighting  among  themselves  and  with  their 
more  quietly  disposed  neighl)ors.  They  inhabit  all 
the  mountain  region  in  the  east  and  centre  of  the 
island,  except  where  a few  little  breid<s  in  the  barrier 
of  cliffs  along  the  coast  has  made  lauding  possible, 
and  small  towns  have  been  established,  as  at  Kwa- 
renko,  at  the  foot  of  a fertile  valley,  where  the  tril)cs 
are  uncivilized,  but  friendly,  and  come  down  to  the 
steamer  to  hel|)  land  freight. 

In  the  plains  of  the  south  there  are  a large  number 
of  aborigines  who  have  come  under  .some  civilizing 
influence,  and  have  become  peaceable,  and  taken  to 
agriculture  in  a simple  way.  These  are  called  Jiko- 
ban  by  the  Japanese,  and  Popohoan  by  MacKay  and 
other  English  writers.  They  are  no  match  for  the 
Chinese,  who  get  their  land  away  from  them  almost 
as  fast  as  they  take  it  up  and  reclaim  it.  The  Popo- 
hoans  are  very  fond  of  drink,  and  when  well  filled 
they  will  i)art  with  anything,  even  the  field  and  the 
crop  on  it.  Davidson  relates  a story  which  he  says  is 
a popular  C'hine.se  anecdote:  “Two  Popohoans  had 
together  become  the  proud  po.';.ses.sors  of  three  dollar.s, 
but  could  not  devise  a means  of  dividing  them  equally. 
They  sat  down  on  the  road,  and  each  took  a dollar, 
but  tliere  still  remained  another ; hoAV  to  dispose  of  it 
fairly  was  a po.ser.  At  length  a Chinese  came  along. 


FORMOSA. 


355 


and  tliey  asked  him  to  solve  the  problem  for  them, 
vhich  he  did  by  giving  each  one  dollar  and  pocketing 
the  third,  leaving  them  lost  in  amazement  and  delight 
at  this  ready  disposal  of  their  difficulty.”  ’ 

The  Japanese  call  the  wild  tribes  Seiban  (“  Raw 
Barbarians”);  they  are  the  famous  head-hunters, 
among  whom  a man’s  position  in  society  is  determined 
by  the  number  of  skulls  he  has  hanging  on  his  wall 
nnder  the  eaves.  At  first  they  only  desired  the  pig- 
tailed variety,  regarding  the  cropped  Ja}>anese  as  a 
man  and  a brother ; but  unfortunately  they  have 
ceased  to  make  distinctions.  Yet  they  are  capable  of 
restraint,  if  exercised  kindly  and  firmly,  as  has  been 
shown  by  at  lea.st  two  Japanese  officials  who  have 
been  living  among  them  on  the  southeast  coast.  One 
of  these  men  is  a connection  of  ^larquis  Saigo,  and 
this  ju’edisposed  them  to  think  well  of  him ; and  he 
has  checked  head-hunting  by  cutting  them  off  from 
the  Chinese  till  they  j)romiscd  to  behave  properly.  As 
their  only  way  of  getting  salt  and  powder  and  such 
things  was  from  the  Chinese,  to  separate  them  entirely 
was  a very  heavy  punishment.  The  officer  has  al.so 
made  the  chiefs  promise  to  .spend  a certain  part  of 
the  year  in  residence  in  a certain  village,  with  their 
families;  and  there  they  come  in  contact  Avith  the 
Japanese,  and  a beginning  of  a school  is  provided  for 
the  children.  The  other  guardian  is  also  from  Sat- 

'.T.  AV.  Davidson:  “Formosa  and  Its  Inhabitants.”  Far  East, 
June,  1896. 


356 


JAPAN. 


suma,  and  is  one  of  the  few  sundvors  of  General 
Saigo’s  band,  having  remained  alive  by  the  chief’s 
express  order,  that  he  might  care  for  the  many 
who  were  left  fatherless  and  widowed,  or  Avith- 
out  sons.  Here  in  Formosa  he  devotes  himself 
to  his  little  flock  of  “ Raw  Barbarians,”  and  has 
won  their  confidence  by  justice  and  straightforward 
kindness. 

At  first  the  Japanese  government  divided  the  Island 
into  three  prefectures,  but  this  ariimgement  has  been 
lately  done  away,  and  the  administration  centred 
entirely  at  the  capital,  Taihoku,  or,  as  the  Chinese 
pronounce  it,  Taipeh.  This  is  at  the  northern  end  of 
the  island,  not  on  the  sea,  but  on  the  Tarasui  river, 
which  empties  about  ten  miles  beloAv.  The  port  of 
Tamsui  is  at  its  mouth,  but  is  not  deep  enough  for 
anything  but  small  boats.  Keliiug,  about  as  far  from 
Taihoku  to  the  northeast,  is  the  only  real  port  of  For- 
mosa that  deserves  the  name ; and  even  this  is  any- 
thing but  good,  the  anchorage  soft  and  shifting,  and 
the  harbor  disturbed  by  waves  from  the  Black  Cur- 
rent, which  flows  by  only  a few  hundred  feet  outside. 
The  vessels  anchor  in  the  harbor,  and  you  go  ashore 
in  very  poor  Chinese  sampans.  It  is  a pretty  place, 
a deeji  bay  running  up  toward  the  hills,  and  with  the 
mountains  in  view  behind.  A picturesque  island  lies 
in  the  midst,  and  the  shores  are  brilliantly  green  with 
palms  and  bamboo.  Around  this  northern  end  of  the 
island  the  country  is  hilly,  and  a great  deal  of  tea  is 


FOEMOSA. 


357 


grown — that  which  gets  into  tlie  market  under  the 
name  of  Formosa  Oolong. 

The  landscape  is  un-Japanese  from  the  moment  you 
reaeh  the  shore ; the  fields  are  larger,  fenceless  as  in 
Japan,  but  less  exquisitely  trim ; the  houses  are  of 
brick  or  adobe,  higher  than  in  Japan,  and  in  the 
Chinese  ixirt  of  the  city  crowded  and  dark ; the  very 
people  working  in  the  fields  or  pulling  the  jinrikishas 
show,  even  at  a distance,  the  loose,  angular  build  of  the 
Chinese  lower  classes,  and  the  baggy  trousers  and 
flapping  coats,  so  unlike  the  tight  nether  garments 
and  belted  tunics  of  Jajianese  peasants.  Some  of  the 
])olicenien  are  Chinese,  and  even  they  are  not  dig- 
nified, in  their  loose  clothes,  and  with  their  cues  wound 
round  their  heads  and  stuffed  under  straw  hats ; but 
they  have  proved  useful  in  finding  out  what  goes 
on  among  their  countrymen,  and  especially  in  dis- 
covering contagious  disease,  which  was  often  con- 
cealed from  the  Ja[)anese  inspector.  A Chinese 
hosj)ital  has  been  establishe<l  for  them,  and  they  are 
much  less  afraid  to  go  to  their  own  countrymen  for 
treatment. 

The  Jajianese  quarter  of  the  city  is  scrupulously 
clean,  and  the  drainage  excellent;  deep  ditehes,  with 
cemented  sides,  run  along  the  streets,  and  are  carefully 
cleaned  each  day,  though  water  runs  in  them  continu- 
ally. Years  ago  the  C’hinese  brought  water  from  the 
mountains  to  another  suburb  of  the  city,  called  Banka; 
leading  a stream  through  many  feet  of  rock,  and  by 


358 


JAPAN. 


a wooden  aqueduct  fifty  feet  high  across  a ravine. 
A third  suburb  is  inhabited  by  the  American  and 
European  population ; this  is  outside  the  walls,  and 
goes  by  the  somewhat  barbarous  name  Twatutia ; the 
railroad  station  is  here. 

So  far  as  can  now  be  seen,  it  must  be  railroads  and 
not  ships  that  open  the  country,  though  a Japanese 
expert  in  harbors  has  lately  been  studying  the  possi- 
bilities of  improvement.  Anping,  the  old  Dutch  set- 
tlement, has  only  a roadstead,  where  vessels  have  to 
anchor  two  miles  off  shore,  and  passengers  and  freight 
are  landed  in  boats  which  Prof.  Chamberlain  compares 
to  “ a tub  on  a raft.”  Takao  is  a little  better  off ; it  is 
at  the  mouth  of  a long  lagoon,  entered  by  a narrow 
channel  between  two  hills.  Tainan,  formerly  called 
Taiwanfu,  the  original  Chinese  capital,  is  not  on  the 
sea  at  all  now,  but  two  or  three  miles  inland;  it  is  a 
walled  city,  quite  large  and  fairly  clean  and  attractive; 
the  better  class  of  houses  are  screened  by  high  hedges 
or  bamboo  fences,  and  abundance  of  trees.  Tainan 
has  the  most  European  accommodation  to  be  found  on 
the  island,  and  there  are  shops  for  some  European 
goods,  though  the  foreign  population  is  small,  and  the 
Japanese  count  only  two  or  three  thousand,  besides  the 
officers  and  soldiers  stationed  there.  Tliis  western 
coast  is  the  home  of  a large  Chinese  population,  agri- 
cultural and  industrious,  and  on  the  whole  well  be- 
haved ; the  women  bind  their  feet,  which  the  trouble- 
some Hakkas  do  not,  and  thus  the  latter  are  the 


FORMOSA.  359 

stronger  race,  and  get  the  better  of  the  Hoklos  when- 
ever they  come  into  competition. 

That  Japan  has  many  most  difficult  problems  to 
solve  in  F ormosa  is  not  to  be  denied ; and  her  reforms 
are  seriously  handicapped  by  lack  of  money  to  push 
them.  Yet  the  natural  resources  of  the  island  are  im- 
mense, and  the  government  has  undertaken  its  task 
with  mncli  earnestne&s  for  the  real  good  of  the  Ft)r- 
mo.sans,  as  well  as  of  the  nation  at  large,  and  tlie  end 
must  be  prosperity.  It  is  satisfactory  to  read  Picker- 
ing’s opinion  in  1898,  throe  years  after  the  treatv  of 
Shimonoseki  gave  the  island  to  Japan  ; he  thinks  that 
there  will  be  no  trouble  with  the  .savages — with  whom 
Pickering  himself  had  considerable  dealings — but  that 
only  tlie  severest  measures  will  subdue  the  Chinese,” 
who  he  thinks  may  intrigue  with  the  mainland,  as  well 
as  resist  order  and  civilizing  influences.  But  he  con- 
cludes hopefully,  “ There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
change  of  government  will  ultimately  benefit  both  the 
Japanese  and  the  inhabitants  of  Formosa,  and  that 
the  civilized  world  will  be  the  gainers,  though  hitheito 
the  conrpierors  have  not  achieved  any  great  results.” 

Let  me  close  these  rambling  chapters  with  Do  la 
Mazeli^re’s  parting  judgment  on  Japan  and  her 
people. 

“ AVith  Oriental  fatalism,  the  Japanese  have  ac- 
cepted progress  as  inevitable;  with  an  enthusiasm 
which  to  ns  seems  to  belong  not  to  the  East,  but  to 
Euroi)c,  they  have  joyfully  repudiated  what  they 


360 


JAPAN. 


counted  good,  that  in  all  things  they  might  attain  to 
yet  better.  ...  If  the  future  requires  of  them  re- 
forms still  more  complete,  be  sure  they  will  be  ready 
to  accomplish  them.  The  work  of  Japan’s  transfor- 
mation is  not  yet  ended,  it  is  scarcely  begun  ; should 
she  carry  it  to  a successful  conclusion,  Europeans  will 
surely  find  therein  useful  examples  for  the  task  which 
they  have  themselves  to  fulfill.” 


INDEX 


Adams,  'Will,  i.  .33. 

Adziima-bashi,  bridge,  Tokyo,  i. 
137. 

Agricultural  products,  i.  10. 
Agriculture,  encouragement  of, 
ii.  74. 

Aidzu,  clan,  i.  330. 

Ainu,  the  aboriginal  race,  i.  8,  35, 
371;  ii.  1. 

an  ethnologic  puzzle,  ii.  2. 
bear  feast  of,  ii.  16. 
burial  customs  of,  ii.  21. 
doomed  to  e.xtinction,  ii.  29. 
dress  of,  ii.  26. 
drinking  feasts  of,  ii.  19. 
fairy  tales  of,  ii.  13. 
fear  of  ghosts  among,  ii.  21. 
heirlooms  of,  ii.  28. 
household  utensils  of,  ii.  15. 
houses  of,  manner  of  build- 
ing, ii.  11. 

lack  of  cleanliness  among, 
ii.  3. 

language  of,  ii.  4. 
legends  of,  i.  359;  ii.  8,  18, 
23,  204. 

origin  of,  legend  of,  ii.  5. 
physical  characteristics  of,  ii. 
2. 

religion  of,  ii.  19. 

“sacred  hedge”  of,  ii.  17. 
tattooing  among,  ii.  3. 
veneration  for  the  piue  and 
the  oak,  ii.  26. 

women,  restrictions  upon,  ii. 

20. 

Alcock,  Sir  Rutherford,  ii,  93.  I 

Amaterasu,  sun  goddess,  i.  230;  i 
ii.  131,  136.  I 


American  Legation,  Tokyo,  burn- 
ing of,  i.  120. 

Amida,  Buddhist  deity,  i.  280, 
292 ; ii.  193,  304. 

Amma,  blind  shampooers,  i.  29. 
Ancestors,  reverence  for  graves 
of,  i.  1.31. 

Anjiro,  Paul,  ii.  323. 

Anping,  Formosa,  ii.  358. 

Antoku,  child  emperor,  i.  40. 
Aomori,  town,  i.  352. 

Aoyama  Palace,  Tokyo,  i.  127. 
Appert,  i.  307. 

Apple  trees,  i.  374. 

Arashiyama,  town,  ii.  226. 
Archaeological  remains,  ii.  6. 
Architecture,  i.  123. 

Arikoto,  poet,  ii.  182. 

Arima,  watering-place,  ii.  308. 
Arisugawa,  Prince,  i.  118. 

Army,  size  of,  i.  61. 

Arnold,  Sir  Edwin,  i.  98,  100;  ii. 
91. 

Asagao,  morning-glory,  ii.  262. 
A.sakusa  Temple,  Tokyo,  i.  113, 
134. 

Asano,  Lord,  i.  141. 

Ashikaga  Takauji,  General,  i.43; 
ii.  304,  305. 

Ashi-no-yu,  watering-place,  ii. 
50. 

Ashio,  town,  i.  296. 

A so  San,  volcano,  ii.  336. 

Aston,  W.  G.,  ii.  214,  264,  268, 
307. 

.\tago  Hill,  Tokyo,  i.  117. 

Atami,  watering-place,  ii.  .33,  61. 
Atsumori,  knight,  ii.  201,  307. 
Autumn  season,  i.  3. 


361 


362 


INDEX. 


Awa,  island,  i.  14. 

Awaji,  island,  ii.  310. 

Awata,  suburb  of  Kyoto,  ii.  217. 

Babies,  mode  of  carrying,  i.  20, 
27,  144. 

Bacon,  Alice  Mabel,  i.  125. 
Badgers,  tales  of,  i.  295. 

Bakufu,  board  of  officials,  i.  50. 
Bamboo  grove,  Oji,  i.  212. 
Bandaisan,  volcano,  i.  331. 

Bank  of  Japan,  Tokj-o,  i.  124. 
Batchelor,  Mr.,  i.  371 ; ii.  2,  9, 12, 
17,  21,  23. 

Bath,  a Japanese,  i.  248. 

Bathing,  cold,  i.  250. 

hot,  i.  248. 

Beans,  i.  10. 

Bear  feasts  of  the  Ainu,  ii.  16. 
Bears,  i.  362. 

Beets,  sugar,  i.  374. 

Benkei,  retainer  of  Yoshitsune, 
ii.  56,  210,  219,  243. 

Benkei,  the  Qaick-witted  Loyalist,  | 
ii.  57. 

Benteu  Sama,  sea  god,  i.  85. 
Benten’s  Island,  i.  85. 

Big  Hell,  valley,  ii.  58. 

Biuzuru,  deity  possessing  healing 
powers,  i.  75. 

Bird,  Mrs.  Isabella  L.  Bishop,  ii. 

1. 

Birds,  i.  363. 

Bishamon,  god  of  good  fortune  in 
war,  i.  86;  ii.  195. 

Black  Current,  ii.  348. 

Black,  John  B.,  i.  16, 367 ; ii.  300, 
313. 

Bluff,  the,  Yokohama,  i,  21,  22. 
Bon,  feast  of  the  dead,  ii.  248. 
Bou-odori,  dance,  ii.  266. 

Book  of  the  Law  of  the  White 
Lotus,  worship  of,  i.  198. 

Botan,  peony,  i.  206. 

Boys,  education  of,  i.  61,  80,  129. 
Brigandage  in  Formosa,  ii.  352. 
British  I.egation,  Tokyo,  attack 
on,  i.  120. 

Brocade,  manufacture  of,  i.  268 
Buddhism,  advances  in  art  and 
science  due  to,  ii.  282. 
introduction  of,  i.  37,  194. 
Buke  Hato,  rules  of  the  Samurai, 
i.  52. 


I Buke,  military  lords,  i.  36. 

Bund,  the  Yokohama,  i.  17. 

Bungo  channel,  ii.  316. 

Burial  customs  of  tlie  Ainu,  ii.  21. 
Bushido,  the  Soul  of  Japan,  ii. 
202. 

Bushi,  military  class,  i.  41. 

Butter,  i.  10,  26. 

Camelias,  dislike  for,  i.  190; 

Cam])  Hill,  Yokohama,  i.  24. 
Camphor  trees,  ii.  335. 

Canadian  Pacific  Steamship  Com- 
pany, i.  6. 

Ca|)e  Ezan,  i.  361. 

Caj>e  Maiko,  ii.  310. 

Cape  Wada,  ii.  303. 

Capron,  General  Horace,  i.  369. 
Castles,  ii.  107,  225,  297,  308,  312. 
Cat  of  Nabeshima,  tale  of,  i.  2.50. 
Cattle,  used  only  for  draught,  i.  10. 
Central  Mountain  Koad,  i.  227. 
Chadai,  gratuity,  i.  92. 
Chamberlain,  Ba-sil  Hall,  i.  96, 
238,  250,  2.56;  ii.  1,  2,  4,  9,  10, 
24,  62,  1-36,  139,  191,  247,  358. 
Charity  Hospital,  Tokyo,  i.  127. 
Cheese,  use  of,  i.  10. 
Cherry-blossoms,  ii.  226. 

“ Cherry-blossom  Sunday,”  Uy- 
eno  Park,  ii.  255. 

Cherry  trees,  i.  374. 

Chestnuts,  use  of  as  food,  i.  223. 
“Chicken -in -the -pan,”  edible 
dish,  i.  100. 

Chikamatsu,  dramatist,  ii.  238. 
Child,  ceremonies  following  the 
birth  of  a,  i.  190. 
Chinese,restrictious  on  trade  with, 
i.  51. 

revival  of  study  of,  i.  53. 
Chion-in,  temple  of,  Kyoto,  ii.  189. 
Cho-nin,  street  people,  i.  53. 
Chop-sticks,  use  of,  i.  99. 

Choshu,  clan,  i.  51. 

Christianitv,  introduction  of,  i. 
45 ; ii.  324. 

Christians,  persecution  of,  ii.  327. 
Chrysanthemums,  ii.  45,  269. 
Chuai,  Emperor,  tomb  of,  ii.  319. 
Classical  .students,  i.  54. 

Climate,  i.  8. 

Climatic  changes,  i.  1. 

I Clothing,  seasonable,  i.  3. 


INDEX. 


363 


Cloud-compeller,  sacred  sword,  i. 
229. 

Coal,  i.  364;  ii.  321. 

Concession,  the,  Osaka,  ii.  295. 

Yokohama,  i.  16,  21,  22. 
Concubinage,  i.  180. 

Couder,  ii.  250,  259. 

Conformation  of  the  country,  i.  7. 
Confucius,  teachings  of,  i.  180, 186. 
Constitution,  plan  of  the,  i.  59. 
Copper  mines,  i.  296. 

Cormorant  fishing,  ii.  124. 

Creek,  the,  Yokohama,  i.  23. 
“Creeping  Dragons,”  trees,  Kame- 
ido,  ii.  250. 

Crops,  prohibition  against  chang- 
ing, ii.  80. 

“Cross  Strand,”  Yokohama,  i.  16. 
Crown  I’riiice,  ii.  62. 

Curio  shops,  Enoshima,  i.  87. 
Tokyo,  i.  148. 

Yokohama,  i.  27. 

Daibutsu,  image  of  Buddha,  at 
Hyogo,  ii.  303. 
at  Kamakura,  i.  71. 
at  Ky'oto,  ii.  196. 
at  Nara,  ii.  287. 

Da  igo.  Empress,  ii.  170. 

Daikoku,  deity,  personification 
of  wealth,  i.  86. 

Daikon,  radish,  i.  10. 

Daimyo  Abe,  councilor  of  leyasu, 

i.  289. 

Daimyo  Okubo,  councilor  of  leya- 
su, i.  289. 

Dainichi  Do,  garden,  Xikko,  i.293. 
J).ii  Nihon  Shi,  history,  i.  219. 
Daito-kuji,  temple,  Kyoto,  ii.  197. 
Dances,  ii.  231. 

Danjuro,  Ichikawa,  actor,  ii.  242. 
Dan-no-ura,  town,  i.  41  ; ii.  317. 
Date  Masamune,  i.  305,  306,  308, 
310,  311,  325. 

Date  Teruinune,  i.  311. 

Davidson,  J.  W.,  ii.  3.54. 

Day  of  the  Horse,  festival,  ii.  2.54. 
Days  of  the  month  (Japanese), 
method  of  naming,  ii.  272. 
Dead,  world  of  the,  legend  of  the, 

ii.  23. 

Deer,  tame,  ii.  315. 

Dementia,  ascribed  to  “ fo.x  pos- 
session,” i.  252. 


Dengyo  Daishi,  ii.  220. 

Denj)oya,  telegraph  messenger, 
i.  18. 

Dewa,  province,  i.  244. 

Dharmupada,  i.  192. 

Divorce,  rate  of,  i.  180. 

Do  Cho,  government  building, 
Sapporo,  i.  375. 

Dogashima,  village,  ii.  44. 

Dogs,  prohibition  against  ii.  315. 

Dokyo,  Buddhist  priest,  ii.  311. 

“ Dual  System,”  i.  42,  69. 

Dutch  in  Formosa,  ii.  351. 

restrictions  on  trade  with,  i. 

51;  ii.  326. 

Dzushi,  village,  i.  34. 

“Ear  Mound,”  Kyoto,  ii.  198. 

Eartlupiakes,  i.  7 ; ii.  121. 

Earth-Spiders,  ancient  race,  i.  36. 

Eastern  Sea  Road,  i.  227  ; ii.  65. 

Ebisu,  deity,  i.  86. 

Education,  national  system  of,  i. 
61. 

Educ.ational  institutions,  i.  127, 
129,  373. 

Edwards,  Osman,  i.  288  ; ii.  243. 

“ Eight  Beauties  of  Omi,”  ii.  218. 

Ejiri,  village,  ii.  89. 

Ekoin,  village,  i.  1.54. 

Eleven  Faced  Kwannon,  statue 
of,  Kamakura,  i.  74. 

Elm  trees,  i.  363,  373. 

Emishi,  ancient  race,  i.  37,  42. 

Emma,  Buddhist  god  of  the  lower 
regions,  temple  of,  Kamakura, 
i.  75. 

Emma-0,  judge  of  the  dead,  i.  255. 

English,  early  trading  with,  ii. 
326. 

Enomoto,  rebel  commander,  i.  366. 

Enoshima,  island,  i.  83. 

Epilepsy,  ascribed  to  “ fox  pos- 
session,” i.  252. 

Etchi,  province,  i.  244. 

Etchigo,  division  of  a province,  i. 
244. 

Etchiu,  division  of  a province,  i. 
244. 

Etchizen,  division  of  a province, 
i.  244. 

Ethnographic  peculjarities,  i.  36. 

European  Settlements  in  the  Far 
East,  it.  295. 


364 


INDEX. 


Far  East,  ii.  355. 

Farther  Etchi,  division  of  a prov- 

1 n 1 04  A 

Feast  of'Colis,  ii.  252. 

Feast  of  Lanterns,  ii.  211. 

Feast  of  the  Dead,  ii.  211,  248, 
265. 

Fenollosa,  ii.  288. 

Ferns,  ii.  46. 

Feudalism,  i.  41,  58;  ii.  76. 

Feuds  of  the  nobles,  i.  39. 
Filature,  first,  i.  263. 

Filial  piety,  stories  of,  i.  185. 
Financial  system,  i.  63. 

Firearms,  introduction  of,  i.  44. 
Fire  god,  legend  of  the,  ii.  135. 
Firemen,  Tokyo,  i.  153. 

Fires,  destructive,  Tokyo,  i.  151. 
“Fisher- boy  of  Urashima,” 
legend  of,  ii.  103. 

Fisheries,  i.  371. 

“ Five  staples,”  i.  10. 

Flax,  i.  374. 

Fleas,  jirevalence  of,  i.  102. 
F'lora,  ii.  41,  45. 

Flower  fairs,  Tokyo,  i.  161. 
Flowers,  reverence  for,  ii.  249. 
Food  goddess,  temple  of,  Ise,  ii. 
151. 

Food,  Japanese,  i.  98. 

Formosa,  island,  ii.  345. 

F’ormosa,  Oolong  tea,  ii.  357. 
Forty-seven  Ronin,  tombs  of  the, 
Tokyo,  i.  113. 

Fossil  wood,  1.  307. 

Four  Dragons,  monastery  of,  Nik- 
ko,  i.  274. 

“ Four  Paths  of  Learning,”  ii.  284. 
“ Fox  pos.session,”  superstitious 
belief,  i.  252. 

Fox  worship,  Ainu  legend  con- 
cerning, ii.  204. 

Foxes,  temple,  i.  314. 

Fox,  fairy  tale  of  a,  ii.  13. 

Fox  ken,  game,  i.  147. 

Fraser,  Mrs.  Hugh,  i.  5,  237. 
From  Sea  to  Sea,  ii.  90. 

Fu  Daishi,  Chinese  priest,  i.  199. 
“ Fuji,”  Japanese  cruiser,  i.  61. 
Fuji  River,  ii.  100. 

Fuji  San,  mountain,  i.  9. 
Fujiwara,  clan,  i.  39. 

Fukui,  castle-town,  i.  245. 
Fukuoka,  town,  i.  351. 


Fukurokuji,  deity,  i.  86. 
F'ukusawa,  Mr.,  school  of,  i.  130. 
Fukushima,  city,  i.  342. 
Fukuyama,  town,  i.  365. 
i'ukuzawa,  student,  ii.  330. 
Furniture  of  a Japanese  house,  i. 
174. 

second-hand  European,  i.  25. 
Furs,  i.  294. 

Fushimi,  village,  ii.  206. 

Gardening,  Japanese,  i.  212. 
Geisha,  dancing  girl,  i.  140;  ii. 
209. 

Gemmyo,  Empress,  ii.  282. 

“Genji  Monogatari,”  Japanese 
classic,  i.  39. 

Gen-pci,  war  of  the,  i.  39. 
Geograjdiical  nomenclature  of 
Japan,  ii.  10. 

Gey.sers,  ii.  61. 

Ghostly  Japan,  ii.  187. 

Ghosts,  fear  of,  among  the  Ainu, 
ii.  21. 

Gifu,  town,  ii.  68,  121. 

Giiikakuji,  monastery,  Kyoto,  ii. 
174. 

Gion,  temple,  Kyoto,  ii.  202. 
Girls,  education  of,  i.  61. 

rules  for,  i.  183. 

Goblins,  i.  233. 

Go-Daigo,  Emperor,  i.  43;  ii.  38, 
243,  304,  305. 

Go-down,  storehouse,  i.  150. 

God  of  Writing,  temple  of,  Kame- 
ido,  i.  216. 

Goddess  of  Autumn,  i.  222. 
Go-Koku,  “ Five  stajiles,”  i.  10. 
Golden  Carp,  inn,  Tokyo,  i.  98. 
Golden  Crow,  mystic  bird,  i.  79. 
Golden  Pavilion,  Kyoto,  ii.  173. 
Golden  Water,  well,  Nagoya,  ii. 
108. 

Gompachi,  tale  of,  i.  195. 

Gonse,  i.  339 ; ii.  109,  191,  288. 
Go-Shirakawa,  Emperor,  i.  45. 
Gotemba,  village,  ii.  53. 

Grant,  General  U.  S.,  i.  112,  278; 
ii.  346. 

Grass-Mower,  sacred  sword,  i.  231. 
Griffis,  William  Elliot,  i.  128,  221, 
245. 

Gyogi,  Buddhist  priest,  inventor 
of  the  pottery  wheel,  ii.  114, 287. 


INDEX. 


365 


Gyoja,  mountaia  hermits,  i.  251. 

Hachi-ishi,  village,  i.  278. 

Hachiraan,  god  of  war,  temple 
of,  Kamakura,  i.  77. 

Hachi-no-he,  gate  on  the  Oshiu 
Kaido,  i.  304. 

Hakodate  Head,  i.  354. 

Hakodate  Mountain,  i.  354. 

Hakodate,  town,  i.  355,  365. 

Hakone,  district,  ii.  48. 

Hakone,  village,  ii.  48. 

Hakuraku,  Chinese  poet,  i.  226. 

Hall  of  the  Three  Buddhas, 
Nikko,  1.  279. 

Hari-kari,  body-cutting,  i.  52. 

Harris,  Mrs.,  ii.  64. 

Haruna  Fuji,  mountain,  i.  257. 

Haruna  Lake,  i.  257. 

Uatamato,  retainers  of  the  Toku- 
gawa  clan,  i.  52. 

Hayakawa  River,  ii.  40. 

Head-hunters,  Formosa,  ii.  .355. 

Hearn,  Lafcadio,  i.  5,  58,  76,  150, 
172,  201;  ii.  69,  187,  209,  221, 
336. 

Heavenly  Kings,  images  of,  Kiyo- 
inidzu-dera,  Kyoto,  ii.  195. 

Hjian,  “the  Peace,”  national 
epoch,  i.  38. 

Hemp,  use  of,  as  clothing,  i.  266. 

Hepburn,  Professor,  i.  128. 

Hermits,  i.  251. 

Heusken,  Mr.,  murder  of,  i.  121. 

Hidari  Jingoro,  wood  carver,  ii. 
99,  193,  202. 

Hidetada,  son  of  leyasu,  i.  287. 

Hi<levori,  son  of  llideyoshi,  ii. 
127,  298. 

Hidevoshi,  General,  i.  46, 306, 344 ; 
ii.  39,  60,  111,  196,  198,294,  297, 
312,  324. 

Hiezan,  raonastory  at,  ii.  220. 

iligiishi  Hongsvanji,  temple, 
Kyoto,  ii.  193. 
monastery,  Nagoya,  ii.  106. 

Higashi  Otani,  temple,  Kyoto,  ii 
202. 

Hikone,  town,  ii.  225. 

Hiuin,  outcasts,  i.  53. 

Hirose  River,  i.  .307. 

Hiroshige,  artist,  ii.  73. 

Hiroshima,  town,  ii.  313. 

Historical  accounts,  early,  i.  36. 


I History  of  the  Empire  of  Japan, 

i.  47. 

History  of  the  [Japanese]  Navy, 

ii.  329. 

i Hitchcock,  Romyn,  ii.  2, 19. 
Hoho  Bird,  mystic  bird,  i.  80, 
286. 

Hojo  family,  i.  42. 

Hojo  Tokimasa,  ii.  36. 

Hojo  Tokimune,  regent,  i.  89;  ii. 
334. 

Hnkurokudo,  highway,  i.  227. 
Hokusai,  artist,  ii.  73,  91. 
Holidays,  national,  ii.  247. 
Honen,  founder  of  the  Jodo  sect, 

I ii.  200. 

I Hon-monji,  temple  at  Ikegami,  i. 
I 194. 

i Honolulu,  Sandwich  Islands,  i.  6. 
Horses,  i.  10. 

Horse-cars,  i.  122. 

Horse-Headed  Kwannon,  Bud- 
dhist deity,  image  of,  Nikko,  i. 
280. 

Hosokawa,  Countess,  i.  187. 

I Hot  water,  universal  use  of,  i.  247. 
Hot  springs,  i.  246 ; ii.  32,  303, 307. 
Hotei,  deity,  i.  86. 

House,  a Japanese,  construction 
of,  i.  169. 

Householil,  a Japanese,  i.  168. 
Houses  of  Parliament,  Tokyo,  i. 
124. 

Hoy,  Mrs.,  missionary,  i.  316. 
“Hundred  Gods,”  images,  Nikko, 
i.  292. 

“Hundred  Steps,”  Yokohama,  i. 
23. 

Hyogo,  city,  ii.  303. 

Ichijo,  Princess,  i.  121. 

Iclii-no-lie,  gate  on  the  Oshiu 
I Kaido,  i.  304. 

Iiiol-worship.  i.  71. 
lemitsu,  grand.son  of  Iey:vsu,  sho- 
gun, i.  51,  52,  115,  287;  ii.  82. 
191,  .327. 

leyasn,  Tokugawa  shogun,  i.  .33, 
47^9,  115,  275;  ii.  67,  69,  88, 
107,  127,  162,  196,  298,  325,  327. 
Ii  Kamon,  regent,  i.  56,  118. 

Ikao,  town,  i.  246,  254. 

Iki,  island,  ii.  334. 

I Ikuta,  temj)le,  Hyogo,  ii.  303. 


366  INDEX. 


Imperial  College  of  Agriculture, 
Sapporo,  i.  373. 

Museum,  Tokyo,  i.  133. 
Palace,  Kyoto,  ii.  158,  160. 
University,  Tokyo,  i.  127. 
Inao,  willow  stick  used  by  the 
Ainu  in  ceremonial  worship,  ii. 
17. 

Inari  Sarna,  goddess  of  rice,  le- 
gend of,  ii.  203. 
teni])le  of,  Kyoto,  ii.  203. 
Sendai,  i.  314. 

Incense-makers,  Kyoto,  ii.  187. 
Industries  of  Jap(Ln,  i.  5. 
Ink-stones,  i.  324. 

Inland  Sea,  the,  ii.  309. 

Inn,  a Jaj)anese,  i.  91. 

Inouye,  i.  152,  154. 

Iriniachi,  village,  i.  278,  293. 
iris  fields,  Horikiri,  ii.  261. 

Irise.s,  ii.  45. 

Irrigation  works,  i.  317. 

Isanagi.  creator  god,  i.  14  ; ii.  135. 
Isanami,  creator  goddess,  legend 
of,  ii.  135. 

Ise,  shrines  of,  ii.  130. 
Ishi-yama-dera,  tenijde.  Seta,  ii. 
224. 

Island  of  the  Bay,  i.  83. 

Ito,  Marquis,  i.  57  ; ii.  313. 
Iwakura,  Baron,  ii.  342. 

Iwamoto,  Mrs.,  i.  332;  ii.  253,  277. 

Japan  and  the  Japanese,  i.  181. 
Japan  Illustrated,  ii.  174. 

Japan  in  Transition,  i.  22. 

Japan  Mail,  i.  25. 

Japan,  native  compilation  of  a 
history  of,  i.  54. 

Japan  Steamship  Company  (Nip- 
|)on  Yusen  Kaisha),  i.  6. 
Japanese  Alps,  i.  59. 

Japanese  Literature,  ii.  268. 
.lapanese  race,  origin  of,  i.  35. 
Janies,  Captain,  ii.  2. 

Jikohan,  aboriginal  tribe,  ii.  354. 
.limnm  Tenno,  first  emperor,  i. 

36,  228  ; ii.  138,  293. 

Jingo  Kogo,  mvtliical  empress,  i. 

37,  77  ; ii.  319. 

Jinrikisha,  two-wheeled  vehicle, 
i.  18. 

ride,  the  first,  i.  18. 
Jinrikisha  Days,  i.  5 ; ii.  64. 


Jizo,  deity,  friend  of  little  child- 
ren, image  of,  Ilakone,  ii. 
51. 

Kyoto,  ii.  195. 

.lodo,  religious  .sect,  i.  201. 

' Junsaimura,  town,  i.  361. 
j Jurojin,  deity,  i.  86. 

; Kaga,  province,  i.  244. 

Kago,  chairs  in  which  travelers 
are  carried,  ii.  49. 

Kagoshima,  town,  i.  32;  ii.  323, 
.337. 

Kaimondake,  volcano,  ii.  338. 
Kamakura,  forsaken  city,  i.  64. 
Kami,  ance.stral  nature  gods,  i.  37. 
Kana  syllabary,  invention  of,  ii. 
284. 

Kaiiagawa,  town,  i.  16. 

Kanazawa,  city,  i.  244. 
Kan-Gakuslia,  classical  students, 
i.  54. 

Kano  Eitoku,  painter,  ii.  191, 193. 

, Kano  MotoLiibo,  jiainter,  ii.  191. 

Kano  Naonobu,  painter,  ii.  191. 

I Kano  Nobunasa,  painter,  ii.  191. 
Kano  Tanshiu,  painter,  ii.  197. 
Kano  Tanyu,  painter,  ii.  191, 197. 
Kashigoye  River,  i.  86. 

Kasuga,  Lady,  i.  288. 

Kato  Kiyomasa,  General,  ii.  107, 
186. 

Katsu,  Count,  i.  57,  117 ; ii.  329, 
331. 

Katsuragawa,  river,  ii.  215. 
Kawasaki,  railroad  .station,  i.  109. 
Keiko,  Emperor,  i.  228,  233. 
Kelung,  Formosa,  ii.  356. 
j Ken,  game,  i.  145. 

Kenehoji,  temple,  Kamakura,  i. 
76. 

Kerosene  oil  wells,  i.  242,  362, 
364. 

Kido,  one  of  the  Samurai,  i.  57. 
Kiga,  village,  ii.  43. 

Kikin-kai,  Welcome  Society,  i.  5. 
Kimura,  K.,  i.  290. 

King  of  the  Deej)  Sand,  temple 
of,  Nikko,  i.  275. 

Kinkakuji,  monastery,  Kyoto,  ii. 
173. 

Kinkwazan,  island,  i.  14. 
Kipling,  Rudyard,  i.  64,  248;  ii. 
65,  90. 


INDEX. 


3G7 


Kishi  Bojin,  temple  of,  Nikko,  i. 
291. 

Kiso-kaido,  mountaia  road,  i. 
234. 

Kita  Shirakawa,  Prince,  i.  133. 
Kiiishiu,  island,  ii.  332. 
Kiyoiuidzu-dera,  temple,  Kyoto,  ■ 
ii.  194.  _ ] 

Kiyomori,  Jajianese  chieftain,  i.  j 
40,  68,  69,  226  ; ii.  101,  303,  304, 
315,  317. 

Kobe,  city,  ii.  300. 

Kobo  Daishi,  Buddhist  saint,  i. 

38,  271 ; ii.  52,  203,  221,  284. 
Ko-daiji,  temple,  Kyoto,  ii.  198. 
Kodzn,  village,  ii.  .33. 

Kojiki,  history  of  the  creation 
and  the  -\ge  of  the  Gods,  i.  36 ; 
ii.  283. 

Koken,  Kmpress,  ii.  311. 

Kokn,  measure  (bushel),  i.  50, 
108. 

Komagatake,  volcano,  i.  360. 
Komei,  Emperor,  i.  56,  121 ; ii. 
208. 

Komon,  Mito,  i.  219. 

Konioro,  castle-town,  i.  240. 
Kompira,  sea  god,  i.  231. 

Kompira  San,  mountain,  i.  257. 
Komurasaki,  tale  of,  i.  195. 

Korean  invasion,  ii.  198. 

Korin,  artist,  i.  339. 

Korinji,  temj>le,  Kyoto,  ii.  197. 
Koropuk-guru,  legendary  folks 
of  the  Ainu,  ii.  6. 

Koshi,  j)rovince,  i.  244. 

Kotsuke,  Lord,  ii.  82. 

Kowakidani,  watering-place,  ii. 
45. 

Ko  Yo  Kwan,  Tokyo,  i.  140. 
Kublai  Khan,  founder  of  the 
Mong(d  dynasty,  i.  70;  ii.  334. 
Kiigc,  court  nobles,  i.  36. 

Kuiso,  philosopher,  ii.  81,  264. 
Kumagai,  knight,  ii.  201,  3o7. 
Kuroda,  Count,  i.  366. 

Kurodani,  temple,  Kyoto,  ii. 

200. 

Kuruina,  vehicle,  i.  18. 

Kuruniaya,  jinrikisha  man,  i.  18. 
Kusonosuke  .Ma.sashige,  General, 
i.  43. 

Kutani  porcelain,  i.  245;  ii.  116. 
Kwammu,  Emperor,  ii.  220. 


Kwannon,  goddess  of  mercy, 
image  of,  Kamakura,  i.  74. 
Nikko,  i.  280. 

Kwansei,  region  south  of  the 
Hakone  Pass,  i.  42. 

Kwanto,  region  north  of  the  Ha- 
kone Pass,  i.  42. 

Kwawenko,  Eormosa,  ii.  354. 
Kyoto,  city,  ii.  68,  154. 
curio  sho])s,  ii.  156. 
festivals  in,  ii.  210. 
gardens,  ii.  172. 

Golden  Pavilion,  ii.  173. 
imperial  p.ilace,  ii.  158,  160. 
Nijo  palace,  ii.  158,  162. 
Silver  Pavilion,  ii.  174. 
summer  evening  in,  ii.  209. 
temides,  ii.  189-213. 


Lacquer  varnish,  mode  of  col- 
lecting, i.  336. 

Lacquer  ware,  method  of  making, 

i.  337  ; ii.  105. 

La  Large,  John,  i.  113,  271,  287; 

ii.  90. 

Lake  Biwa,  i.  251 ; ii.  68,  215. 
Lake  Chuzenji,  i.  270,  298. 

Lake  Ilakone,  ii.  48. 

Lake  Iwashiro,  i.  331. 

Lake  of  the  Lute,  ii.  215. 

Lake  Yumoto,  i.  .300. 

Landor,  Henry  Savage,  ii.  4. 
Landscape  gardening,  Japanese, 
i.  213. 

Lane  & Crawford’s  store,  Yoko- 
hama, i.  25. 

Lanterns,  general  use  of,  ii.  122. 
Laughing  Festival,  ii.  269. 
Legends  — 

concerning  fish  and  flesh,  i. 
3.59. 

concerning  fo.v-worship,  ii. 
204. 


concerning  majiles,  i.  224-226. 
concerning  sjiirit.s,  ii.  18. 
of  .\ matera.su,  sun  goddess, 
ii.  1.36. 

of  Benten  Sama,  sea  god- 
des,s,  i.  85. 
of  Fuji  San,  ii.  98. 
of  Inau,  god  of  rice,  i.  314. 
of  Lsanagi,  creator  god,  ii.  135. 
of  Isanami,  creator  goddess, 
ii.  135. 


368 


INDEX. 


Legends — 

of  Prince  Fire  Fade,  ii.  136. 
of  Prince  Fire  Shine,  ii.  136. 
of  Prince  Yamato-take,  i.  228. 
of  Shodo  Shonin,  i.  272. 
of  Susa-no-o,  wind  god,  ii. 
136. 

of  Yoshiiye,  i.  208. 
of  the  Festival  of  the  Dead, 
ii.  265. 

of  the  Fire  God,  ii.  135. 
of  the  “ Fisher-boy  of  Ura- 
shinia,”  ii.  103. 
of  the  invention  of  pottery, 
ii.  8. 

of  the  Koropuk-guru,  ii.  6. 
of  the  making  of  salt,  i.  319. 
of  the  Merciful  Kwannou,  i. 
255. 

of  the  Moon  God,  ii.  136. 
of  the  mountain  hermit,  i. 
251. 

of  the  origin  of  tea,  ii.  176. 
of  the  origin  of  the  Ainu,  ii.  5. 
of  the  origin  of  the  silkworm, 

i.  267. 

of  the  origin  of  Yezo,  i.  363. 
of  the  Poor  Woman’s  Single 
Lamp,  ii.  123. 

of  the  “ Eobe  of  Feathers,” 

ii.  102. 

of  the  Spirits  of  the  Pine 
Trees,  ii.  307. 

of  the  “ Stone  of  Death,”  ii. 
234. 

of  the  world  of  the  dead,  ii. 
23. 

Letters  of  an  Artist,  i.  113,  271. 
Letters  from  Japan,  i.  5. 

Li  Hung  Chang,  ii.  313. 

Lilies,  proiiibition  against  plant- 
ing, i.  106. 

Locomotives,  manufacture  of,  i. 
105. 

Log  of  a Japanese  Journey,  ii.  64. 
Loti,  Pierre,  i.  78,  102,  270,  280. 
Lotus  flowers,  i.  76;  ii.  262. 

Lotus  Sutra,  Book  of  the  Law  of 
the  White  Lotus,  i.  19.S. 

Lowell,  Percival,  i.  244,  251 ; ii. 
149. 

Lower  Etchi,  division  of  a prov- 
ince, i.  244. 

Lu  Chu  Islands,  i.  7,  35;  ii.  333. 


Lyman,  Professor,  i.  128. 

Mabuchi,  scholar,  i.  55. 

MacKay,  Alexander,  ii.  354. 
Maepherson’s  Hill,  Yokohama,  i. 
29. 

Maebashi,  railroad  station,  i.  254. 
Maiden’s  Pass,  ii.  60. 

Manyoshiu,  collection  of  poetry, 
ii.  283. 

Maple  Club,  Tokyo,  i.  140. 

Maple  groves,  Oji,  i.  211. 
Marriage,  Japanese  idea  of,  i.  184. 
Maruyama,  town,  ii.  217. 

Masaico,  wife  of  Yoritomo,  i.  42; 
ii.  .37. 

Masaraune  Date,  i.  305,  325. 
Masashige,  General,  ii.  38,  304, 
305 

Matsubara,  Iwaguro,  i.  158. 
Matsudaira,  Lord,  i.  245. 
Matsumae,  castle-town,  i.  365. 
Matsumoto,  castle-town,  i.  241. 
Ma}-eda,  Lord  of  Kaga,  i.  244. 
Mazeiiere,  Mis.  de  la,  i.  64,  69, 
77,  104,  287,  311,  327 ; ii.  76,  80, 
99a  a=>Q 

Meal,’ family,  i.  189. 

Meguro,  village,  i.  195. 

Merchant  marine,  i.  62. 

Merciful  Kwannon,  goddess, 
legends  of,  i.  252,  255. 

Mexico,  expedition  to,  i.  51. 
Michizane,  prime  minister,  i.  39, 
216. 

Middle  Etchi,  division  of  a prov- 
ince, i.  244. 

Miidera,  town,  ii.  218. 

Mikado’s  Empire,  i.  5. 

Milk,  use  of,  i.  10,  26. 

Millet,  cultivation  of,  i.  10. 

Milne,  Professor  John,  i.  7 ; ii.  2. 
Minamoto,  clan,  i.  39. 

Minato  River,  ii.  303. 

Misaki,  town,  i.  15. 

Mississipjh  Bay,  i.  16,  29. 
Mistletoe,  ii.  33. 

Mitford,  Algernon  Bertram  Free- 
man, i.  250,  295;  ii.  85,  302. 
Mitsu  Bishi  Consolidated  Com- 
pany, ii.  321. 

Mivajima,  mountain  island,  ii. 
314. 

Miyauoshita,  village,  ii.  43. 


INDEX. 


369 


Mizusawa,  railroad  station,  i.  255. 
Mogi,  town,  ii.  316. 

Momiji-dzuki,  red-leafed  month, 

i.  211. 

Monasteries,  i.  45,  131,  193,  240; 

ii.  88,  106,  190,  220,  286. 
Monkeys,  Japanese,  i.  301. 

Moon  festival,  ii.  267. 

Moon  God,  legend  of,  ii.  136. 
Mori,  Viscount  Arinori,  i.  57,  61, 

129 ; ii.  152. 

Morinaga,  son  of  Go-Daigo,  i.43; 

ii.  304,  305. 

Morioka,  town,  i.  348. 
Morning-glory,  ii.  262. 

Mororan,  town,  i.  361. 

“ Morrison,”  American  ship,  i.  15. 
Morse,  Dr.,  i.  110,  128. 

Motoda,  S.,  i.  180,  186. 

Moto  Hakone,  village,  ii.  52. 
Motoori,  scholar,  i.  55. 

Mount  Asama,  i.  238. 

Mount  Ezan,  i.  361. 

Mount  Fuji,  ii.  90. 

Mount  Haruna,  i.  257. 

Mount  Hiezan.  i.  45  ; ii.  214. 
Mount  Morrison,  Formosa,  ii.  346. 
Mount  Ontake,  i.  251. 

Mount  Silvia,  Formosa,  ii.  346. 
Mount  Soma,  i.  257. 

Mount  Tsukuba,  i.  14. 

Mountain  of  the  Sun’s  Bright- 
ness, i.  272. 

Mulberry  trees,  cultivation  of,  i. 
261. 

Miiller,  Professor  Max,  i.  192 ; ii. 
1.52. 

Murasaki,  author  of  the  Sotnance 
of  Gcnji,  ii.  224. 

Murray,  .\ndrew,  ii.  292. 

Music,  Chinese,  influence  of,  upon 
Japanese  music,  ii.  230. 
MusumS,  girl  or  daughter,  i.  101. 
Mutsuhito,  reigning  emperor,  i. 
36,  59. 

Nagano,  town,  i.  241. 

Nagasaki,  town,  ii.  320. 

Nagose  River,  i.  331. 

Nagoya,  city,  ii.  67,  105. 
Nakasendo,  highway,  i.  227,  234, 
235. 

Naka-yama-dera,  watering-place, 
ii.  307. 

VoL.  II. — 24 


Naniwa,  seaport,  ii.  293. 

Nautaizan,  mountain,  i.  270,  300. 

Naoetsu,  seaport,  i.  241. 

Nara,  ancient  capital,  i.  38;  ii. 
281. 

Nariaki,  Mito,  i.  219. 

Nasturtiums,  i.  375. 

Navy  Department  Building, 
Tokyo,  i.  124. 

Navy,  size  of,  i.  61. 

Neale,  Colonel,  i.  32. 

Negishi,  Y.,  ii.  57. 

Nemuro,  town,  i.  365. 

Nesan,  elder  sister,  i.  101. 

New  Year’s  morning,  Tokyo,  iu 
277. 

Nichiren,  the,  religious  sect,  L 
194. 

Nichiren,  Buddhist  saint,  i.  89, 
194,  200,  202-205,  244. 

Nihon-bashi,  bridge,  Tokyo,  L 
136. 

Nihongi,  historical  narrative,  i. 
36 ; ii.  283. 

Niigata,  seaport,  i.  241. 

Nijo  Palace,  Kyoto,  ii.  158,  162. 

Nikko,  mountain  region,  i.  271. 

Ninomiya,  philosopher,  ii.  86. 

Ninsei,  porcelain  painter,  ii.  115. 

Nintoku,  Emperor,  i.  37. 

Nippon  Yusen  Kaisha,  .Japanese 
Steamship  Company,  i.  6,  62. 

Nishi  Hongwanji,  temple,  Kyoto, 
ii.  192. 

Nitob6,  Dr.  Inazo,  ii.  133,  202, 
214,  341,  345. 

Nitob6,  Mrs.  Inazo,  ii.  345. 

Nitta  Yoshisada,  General,  i.  43 ; 
ii.  38,  304,  .305. 

N6,  dance,  ii.  231. 

Nobles’  School,  Tokyo,  i.  127. 

Noboyori,  brother  of  Yoritomo,  L 

68. 

Nonaka,  Mr.,  meteorologist,  iL 
95. 

Northern  Pacific  Steamship  Com- 
pany, i.  6. 

Noto,  province,  i.  244. 

Oak  tree,  reverence  of  the  Ainu 
for,  ii.  26. 

Obasans,  grandmammas,  i.  87. 

Occidental  and  Oriental  Steam- 
ship Company,  i.  6. 


370 


INDEX. 


Odawara,  Lord  of,  ii.  86. 

Odawara,  town,  ii.  35. 

Odori,  dance,  ii.  236. 

Official  Hintory  of  Japan,  i.  210. 
Ofuua,  railway  station,  ii.  32. 
Oginohama,  harbor,  i.  319. 

Ogres,  i.  234. 

Oil  cans,  utilization  of,  i.  243. 
Oiso,  knight,  tale  of,  i.  141. 

Oiso,  watering-place,  ii.  32. 
Oiwake,  village,  i.  239. 

Oji,  railroad  station,  i.  209. 
Ojigoku,  valley,  li.  68. 

Ojin,  Emperor,  i.  37,  77. 
Okayama,  town,  ii.  311. 
Okikurumi,  legendary  hero  of  the 
Ainu,  ii.  5. 

Okitsu,  village,  ii.  89. 

Okubo,  councilor  of  leyasu,  i. 
9S<)  ■ ii  OQ 

Okubo,  Tokyo,  ii.  258. 

Okuma,  Count,  i.  57,  217 ; ii.  270, 
296,  331. 

Okuni,  dancing  girl,  ii.  236. 
Omiya,  railway  station,  i.  2.54. 
Oniori,  railway  station,  i.  110. 
Ona  Jakamura,  nobleman,  i. 
314. 

Onamuji,  god,  i.  274. 

Ontake,  volcano,  i.  235. 

Orient  Line,  i.  6,  62. 

Orthodocia,  i.  248. 

Osaka,  city,  ii.  216,  294. 

Osborn,  Captain,  11.  N.,  ii.  70. 
Oshima,  island,  i.  14,  325. 

Oshiu  Kaido,  post-road,  i.  304, 
328. 

Ota  Dokwan,  vassal  of  the  Uye- 
sugi,  i.  115. 

Ota  Nobunaga,  feudal  lord,i.  44; 
ii.  107,  109,  111,  198,  222,  294, 
312,  ,324. 

Ota  Tachibana,  wife  of  Prince 
Yamato-toke,  i.  231. 

Otaru,  town,  i.  362,  365. 

Otomo  Toge,  pass,  ii.  60. 

Otori,  rebel  general,  i.  366. 

Otsu,  town,  ii.  217. 

Owakidani,  valley,  ii.  58. 

Owari  Bay,  ii.  67. 

Owari  porcelain,  ii.  112. 

Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company, 

i.  6. 


Parents,  customary  for  sons  to  live 
with,  i.  182. 

Parkes,  Lady,  ii.  94. 

Parkes,  Sir  Henry,  i.  121;  ii.  94, 
301. 

Parliament,  first,  i.  59. 

Peach  orchards,  ii.  33. 

Pear  orchards,  i.  110. 

Peasant  class,  i.  108;  ii.  73. 
Peeresses’  School,  Tokyo,  i.  127. 
Perry,  Commander  Matthew  Cal- 
braith,  1.  15,  55,  105;  ii.  329. 
Persimmon  orchards,  Sendai,  i. 
308. 

Philip  11.  of  Spain,  embassy  to, 
i.  309. 

Physical  aspects  of  country', 

i.  9. 

Pickering,  ii.  351,  359. 

“ Pillow  Sketches,”  Japanese 
classic,  i.  39. 

“ Pine  Islands,”  the,  i.  317. 

Pine  tree,  reverence  of  Ainu  for, 

ii.  26. 

Pine  trees,  ii.  34. 

Pinto,  Memlez,  voyager,  ii.  322. 
Pioneering  in  Formosa,  ii.  353. 
Plays,  stage,  ii.  243. 

Plum  bl().ssoms,  Sugika,  i.  29. 

“ Poem  party,”  i.  334. 

Poor  Woman’s  Single  Lamp, 
legend  of,  ii..l23. 

Popohoan,  aboriginal  tribe,  ii. 
354. 

Porcelain,  i.  245;  ii.  112. 

Porter,  lion.  Bobert  P.,  i.  264. 
Portuguese,  advent  of  the,  i.  44; 
ii.  322. 

Potatoes,  sweet,  use  of,  as  food,  i. 
223. 

Pottery,  Ainu  legend  of  the  inven- 
tion of,  ii.  8. 
early,  ii.  114. 
prehistoric,  ii.  7. 

Priestesses,  ii.  132. 

Prince  Fire  Fade,  god,  legend  of, 
ii.  136. 

Prince  Fire  Shine,  god,  legend  of, 
ii.  136. 

“ Prince  of  Sendai,”  play,  i.  312. 
Privacy,  lack  of,  in  private  life, 
i.  179. 

Proverbs,  i.  246,  345. 

I “ Pure  Laud,”  sect,  i.  201. 


INDEX. 


371 


Quince  trees,  i.  374. 

Radish,  native,  i.  10. 

Eailro^,  first,  i.  104. 

Railway  traveling,  i.  11. 

Rainy  season,  i.  2. 

Eansome,  Stafford,  i.  22.  93. 
Ranunculus,  yellow,  ii.  46. 

Rat,  fairy  tale  of  a,  ii.  14. 

Rats,  prevalence  of,  ii.  12. 

Rattan  trees,  ii.  347. 

“R.aw  Barbarians,”  aborigines, 
ii.  355. 

Red  Cross  Hospital,  Tokyo,  i.  127. 
Heed-men,  aboriginal  tribe,  i.  208. 
Rein,  Dr.,  i.  248,  321,  339 ; ii.  191. 
Religious  worship,-  forms  of,  ii. 
19,  139,  194. 

“ Restoration,”  the,  i.  56. 
Revised  Treaties,  the,  i.  28,  62. 
Rice,  cultivation  of,  i.  10,  106. 
use  of,  as  food,  i.  99. 
wine,  i.  100,  3.59. 

“ Richardson  affair,”  i.  30. 
Rikvu,  tea  devoted,  ii.  180,  186, 
263. 

“ Riviera  of  Japan,”  ii.  62. 

“ Robe  of  Feathers,”  legend  of 
the,  ii.  102. 

Romance  of  Genji,  ii.  224. 

Ronin,  Forty -seven,  tombs  of  the, 
Tokyo,  i.  141. 

Rvogoku-bashi,  bridge,  Tokyo,  i. 
'136. 

.Sacred  bridge,  Xikko,  i.  278. 
Sado,  island,  i.  244. 

Sagami  Bay,  i.  14. 

Saigo,  General,  i.  57,  59,  116;  ii. 
207,  341. 

Saigo,  Marquis,  ii.  346. 

Sail  Rock,  sacred  shrine,  i.  271. 
Sak6,  rice  wine,  i.  100,  359. 
Salmon,  i.  359. 

Salt,  method  of  obtaining,  i.  321. 
Samurai,  military  caste,  i.  41. 

rules  of  the,  i.  52. 
San-jin-san-jen-do,  temple  of,  Ky- 
oto, ii.  195. 

San-no-he,  gate  on  the  Oshiu 
Kaido,  i,  304. 

Sapporo,  town,  i.  362,  365. 
Saru-gaku,  monkey-play,  ii,  235. 
Satsuma  Fuji,  volcano,  ii.  338. 


Satsuma,  Lord,  i.  31. 

Satsuma,  rebellion  of,  1878-1879, 

i.  59. 

Satsuma,  clan,  i.  51. 

ware,  ii.  116,  338. 

Saton,  Sir  Ernest,  ii.  132,  133. 
Scenery,  mountain,  ii.  65. 
Scheube,  ii.  2. 

Scidmore,  Eliza  Ruhamal^,  ii.  64, 
96,  194. 

Scollops,  i.  358. 

Seaweed,  uses  of,  i.  66. 

Seiwa,  Emperor,  i.  358  ; ii.  168. 
Sekigahara,  battlefield,  i.  48,  227 ; 

ii.  127. 

Sendai,  city,  i.  305. 
wood,  i.  307. 

Sengen,  goddess  of  Fuji,  temple 
of,  ii.  99. 

Seta  River,  ii.  224. 

Seta,  town,  ii.  224. 

Seto,  town,  ii.  112. 

Setomono,  porcelain,  ii.  112. 
Settlement,  the  Yokohama,  i.  22. 

“ Seven  flowers  of  autumn,”  ii. 
46. 

Shampooers,  blind,  i.  29. 

Sheep,  climate  inimical  to,  i.  26. 
Shell-heaps,  ancient,  i.  110. 
Shiba,  Tokyo,  i.  137. 

Shibata,  Rev.  R.,  ii.  141. 
Shikken,  regents,  i.  42. 

Shikoku,  town,  ii.  316. 

Shimoda,  Mme.,  i.  104. 
Shimo-Gamo,  temple,  Kyoto,  ii. 
208. 

“Shimonoseki  affair,”  ii.  312. 
.Shimonoseki  Strait,  ii.  316. 
Shinagawa,  railroad  station,  i. 
112. 

Shinano,  river,  i.  234. 
Shinanogawa,  river,  i.  234. 
Shinbunya,  newsboy,  i.  18. 
Shinran,  founder  of  Xishi  Hong- 
wanji,  ii.  192. 

Shinto,  meaning  of  word,  ii.  141. 

religion,  i.  250;  ii.  141. 
Shiogama,  railway  station,  i.  319. 
Ships,  laws  prescribing  size  of,  i. 
51. 

Shirane  San,  mountain,  i.  300. 
Shizuoka,  town,  ii.  67,  88. 

Shodo  Shonin,  saint,  i.  272. 
Shogun,  general-in-chief,  i.  42. 


372 


INDEX. 


Shogunate  dynasty  (1608-1868), 
the,  rise  of,  i.  42. 

Shoguns,  shrines  of  the,  Nikko, 

i.  275. 

Shomu,  Emperor,  ii.  287. 
Shotoku,  Prince,  ii.  285. 

Silk  industry,  i.  260. 

Silkworm,  species  of,  i.  262. 
Silver  Pavilion,  Kyoto,  ii.  174. 
Sketches  of  Tokyo  Life,  i.  154. 
Slate,  i.  324. 

Soga  brothers,  shrine  to  the,  ii.  53. 
Sogoro,  martyr,  ii.  82. 

Sons,  customary  for,  to  live  with 
parents,  i.  182. 

Sorghum,  i.  10. 

Spanish,  advent  of  the,  i.  45. 
Spirits,  Ainu  legend  concerning, 

ii.  18. 

Spirits  of  the  Pine  Tree,  legend 
of  the,  ii.  307. 

Spring  season,  i.  3. 

Springs,  hot,  i.  246;  ii.  32,  303, 
307. 

St.  Fu,  Chinese  priest,  i.  199. 

St.  Nichiren,  founder  of  religious 
sect,  i.  194. 

“ Stone  of  Death,”  legend  of,  ii. 
234. 

Story-teller’s  halls,  ii.  238. 
Sugar-cane,  ii.  68. 

Sugita,  village,  i.  29. 

Sugiwara,  clan,  i.  39. 

Sugiwara  Michizane,  prime  min- 
ister, ii.  169,  207,  290. 

Suiko,  Empress,  i.  .37 ; ii.  283. 
Sujin,  Emperor,  i.  230. 

Sulphur,  i.  364. 

springs,  ii.  .50,  58. 

Sumach  trees,  i.  335. 

Sumida  River,  i.  122. 

Summer  season,  i.  2. 

Sun  Goddess,  legend  of,  i.  36,  230; 
ii.  136. 

Suruga  Bay,  ii.  88. 

Susa-no-o,  wind  god,  legends  of, 
i.  230;  ii.  136. 

Suwa-yama,  watering-place,  ii. 
303. 

Sword,  sacred,  i.  229. 

Talkoku,  capital  of  Formosa,  ii. 
356. 

Taiko-yama,  mountain,  ii.  60. 


Tainan,  Formosa,  ii.  358. 

Taira,  clan,  i.  39. 

Takakura,  Emperor,  i.  226. 
Takao,  Formosa,  ii.  358. 
Takasago,  pines  of,  ii.  307. 
Takasaki,  railway  station,  i.  237, 
254. 

Takashima,  Professor,  ii.  181. 
Takata,  castle-town,  i.  240. 
Takeda  Shingen,  i.  344. 

Tales  of  Old  Japan,  i.  5,  250;  iL 
85. 

Tamagawa,  river,  i.  109. 

Tamsui,  Formosa,  ii.  3-56. 

Tamsui,  river,  Formosa,  ii.  356. 
Tatsuta  Hime,  goddess  of  au- 
tumn, i.  222. 

Tattooing,  practice  of,  among  the 
Ainu,  ii.  3. 

Taxes,  mode  of  levying,  ii.  75. 
Tea  ceremony,  ii.  175,  183. 
cultivation  of,  ii.  177. 
legend  of  the  origin  of,  ii. 
176. 

storehouses,  Yokohama,  i.  26. 
Teeth,  practice  of  blackening,  i. 
109. 

Temples — 

Chion-in,  Kyoto,  ii.  189. 
Daito-kugi,  Kyoto,  ii.  197. 
Earth  God,  i.  259. 

Emma,  Kamakura,  i.  75. 
Engakuji,  Kamakura,  i.  75. 
Fire  God,  i.  259. 

“ Five  Hundred  Rakan,” 
Nagoya,  ii.  106. 

Food  Goddess,  Ise,  ii.  151. 
Gion,  Kyoto,  ii.  202. 
Hachiman,  Kamakura,  i.  77. 
Higashi  Hongwanji,  Nago- 
ya, ii.  106. 

Kyoto,  ii.  193. 

Higashi  Atami,  Kyoto,  ii.  202. 
Ikuta,  Hyogo,  ii.  303. 

Inari  Sama,  Kyoto,  ii.  203. 
Sendai,  i.  314. 

Ishi-yama-dera,  Seta,  ii.  224. 
Kenchoji,  Kamakura,  i.  76. 
Kivomidzu-dera,  Kyoto,  ii. 
192. 

Ko-daiji,  Kyoto,  ii.  198. 
Korinji,  Kyoto,  ii.  197. 
Kunozan,  ii.  88. 

Kurodaui,  Kyoto,  ii.  200. 


INDEX. 


373 


Temples — 

Kwannon,  Kamakura,  i.  74. 
Kyoto,  ii.  195. 

Mizusawa,  i.  255. 

Nichiren,  Ikegami,  i.  198. 
Nishi  Hongwanji,  Kyoto,  ii. 
192. 

Sengen,  Mount  Fuji,  ii.  99. 
Shaka,  Ikegami,  i.  197. 
Shimo-Garao,  Kyoto,  ii.208. 
Temple  of  the  Bird,  Tokyo, 
ii.  272. 

Tenjiu  Sama,  Kameido,  i.  216. 
Kyoto,  ii.  197. 

“Three  Guardian  Deities,” 
Nikko,  i.  291. 

Toji-in,  Kyoto,  ii.  197. 
Yakushi,  Nikko,  i.  284. 
Zuiko-den,  Sendai,  i.  311. 

Ten  Province  Pass,  ii.  59. 

Tendai,  sect,  ii.  221. 

Tengu,  goblins,  i.  233. 

Tenjin  Sama,  patron  saint  of 
writing,  ii.  171. 
temple  of,  Kameido,  i.  216. 
Kyoto,  ii.  207. 

Tenjin  Pass,  i.  259. 

Tenkei,  abbot  of  Nikko,  i.  275. 

“ Testament  of  leyasu,”  i.  52 ; ii. 
77. 

The  Caetom  of  the  Country,  i.  5. 
The  Far  East,  i.  180,  214. 

“The  Journejr  from  Tosa,”  Ja- 
panese classic,  i.  39. 

“The  Kniglitly  Waste  - paper 
Man,”  tale  of,  i.  162. 

The  Mikado’s  Empire,  i.  221. 
Theatre,  the,  ii.  229. 

Things  Japanese,  i.  5. 
“Thirty-three  Holy  Places,”  i. 
255. 

Tliirty-three  Thousand  Statues  of 
Kwannon  the  Compassionate, 
the  Eleven-Faced  and  Thou- 
sand-Handed, temple  of,  K voto, 
ii.  195. 

Thousand-Handed  Kwannon, 
Buddhist  deity,  cave  of,  Nikko, 
i.  272. 

image  of,  Nikko,  i.  280. 
“Three  Days’  Republic,”  i.  368. 
Three  Guardians  of  Nantaizan, 
temple  of,  i.  274. 

“ Three  obediences,”  i.  54. 


Tidal  wave,  i.  348. 

Tiger  game,  i.  147. 

Tipping  servants,  i.  92. 

Tobacco,  use  of,  i.  88. 

Todd,  Mrs.  Mabel,  i.  2,  17,  19. 
Todd,  Professor,  i.  372. 

Toji-in,  temple,  Kyoto,  ii,  197. 
Tokaido  Pass,  i.  29,  227  ; ii.  64. 
Tokiwa,  mother  of  Yoritomo,  i. 
40,  68. 

Tokugawa,  Prince,  i.  116 ; ii.  67, 
206,  299. 

Tokyo,  city,  i.  16,  113. 
bazars,  i.  140. 
bridges,  i.  136. 
eating-houses,  i.  157. 
fire  department,  i.  152. 
fires,  i.  151. 
flower  fairs,  i.  161. 

“ Ginza,”  the,  i.  123. 
Imperial  Museum,  i.  133. 
Imperial  University,  i.  127. 
night  scenes  in,  i.  160. 
peddlers,  i.  157. 
scliools,  i.  127,  130. 
second-hand  shops,  i.  148. 
silk  shops,  i.  149. 
streets,  i.  144. 
temples,  i.  134. 
workshops,  i.  156. 

Yedo  Castle,  i.  115. 

Tomioka,  watering-place,  i.  29. 
Tonegawa,  river,  i.  234. 
Tonozawa,  village,  ii.  40. 

Tora  Gozen,  heroine,  ii.  55. 

Torii  Togo,  pass,  i.  235. 

“Tosa  Nikki,”  Japanese  classic, 
i.  39 ; ii.  64. 

Toshiro,  potter,  ii.  112. 

Tourists,  advice  to,  i.  4. 

Toyama,  mountain,  i.  297. 

Toyo  Kisen  Kaisha,  steamship 
line,  i.  6,  62. 

Trade  statistics,  i.  27. 

Tram-cars,  ii.  35. 

Traveller,  London,  i.  5. 

Treaty  Point,  i.  16. 

Trees,  dwarf,  i.  206. 

Tsuboi,  Professor,  ii.  7. 

Tsugaru  Strait,  i.  354. 

Tsunayoshi,  shogun,  i.  .340. 
Tsushima,  island,  ii.  333. 

Turesh,  wife  of  Okikurumi,  ii. 


374  INDEX. 


Twenty  - eight  Companions  of 
Kwaiinon,  ii.  194. 
image  of,  Kiyomidzu-dera, 
Kyoto,  ii.  194. 

Uchimura,  i.  181 ; ii.  341,  .343. 
Uda,  Erai)eror,  i.  216 ; ii.  169, 248. 
Unbeaten  Tracks,  ii.  1. 

Urabon,  festival,  ii.  248. 

Uraga  Channel,  i.  14. 

Uraga,  town,  i.  15. 

Usui  Toge,  pass,  i.  235. 
Utsunomiya,  town,  i.  278,  328. 
Uyeda,  castle-town,  i.  241. 

Uyeno  Park,  Tokyo,  i.  113,  133. 
Uyesugi,  elan,  i.  ^3. 

Uyesugi  Kenshin,  i.  344. 

Valley  of  the  Great  Boiling,  ii. 
58. 

Vegetation,  i.  9. 

Verbeck,  Dr.  Guido  F.,  i.  128 ; ii. 
330. 

Verse-making,  ii.  249,  269. 
Violets,  ii.  45. 

Volcano  Bay,  i.  361. 

Volcanoes,  i.  7,  331,  360;  ii.  92. 
Vries  Island,  i.  14. 

Wad  a Pa.ss,  i.  2.3.5. 

Wakaniatsu,  castle-town,  i.  331. 
Wan  Yang  Ming,  Chinese  philos- 
opher, ii.  341. 

War  De|>artinent  Building,  To- 
kyo, i.  124. 

War  of  the  Chrysanthemums,  i. 
39 ; ii.  307. 

Water,  precautions  to  be  observed 
before  drinking,  i.  3. 
Watering-places,  i.  29;  ii.  32,  33, 
45,  303,  307,  308. 

Weaving,  ancient  knowledge  of, 
i.  266. 

AVelcoine  Society,  i.  5. 

Weston,  Rev.  Walter,  ii.  9.5. 
Wheat,  cultiv’ation  of,  i.  10. 

Wife,  choosing  a,  i.  186. 

Wind  God,  legend  of,  ii.  136. 
Wine,  rice,  i.  100,  359. 

Winter  season,  i.  1. 

Wistaria  garden,  Kameido,  i.  216. 
Wrestlers,  i.  156. 
Wrestling-matches,  Tokyo,  i.  155. 


Xavier,  Francisco,  Jesuit  mission- 
ary, i.  45 ; ii.  323. 

Yakushi,  saint,  i.  284. 

Yamada,  town,  ii.  135. 

Yamagata,  Marshall,  Marquis,  i. 
57. 

Yamamoto,  village,  ii.  227. 
Y’amato,  original  Japanese  lan- 
guage, i.  55. 

Yamato-take,  Prince,  i.  37,  228. 

“ Yashima,”  Japanese  cruiser,  i. 
61. 

Yedo  Bay,  i.  14. 

Yedo  Castle,  Tokyo,  i.  115. 

Yezo,  island,  i.  362. 

Yokohama,  city,  i.  16,  21. 

Blutf,  the,  i.  23. 

Camp  Hill,  i.  24. 

Creek,  the,  i.  23. 
curio  shops,  i.  27. 
exports  and  imports,  i.  27. 
“Hundred  Steps,”  the,  i. 
23. 

numeration  of  houses,  i.  22. 
second-hand  furniture  shops, 
i.  25. 

surroundings,  i.  29. 
tea  warehouses,  i.  26. 
Yokosuka,  town,  i.  15,  33. 
Yonezawa,  town,  i.  34^ 

Yoritomo,  first  shogun,  i.  40,  41, 
42,  68,  77  ; ii.  36,  54,  58,  100, 
339. 

Yoshiiye,  grandfather  of  Yorito- 
mo, i.  208. 

Yoshida,  Japanese  writer,  i.  339. 
Yoshida,  one  of  the  Samurai,  i. 
57. 

Yoshimasa,  ii.  174. 

Yoshimitsu,  ii.  174. 

Yoshitsune,  brother  of  Yoritomo, 
i.  68,  233,  342  ; ii.  56,  210,  243, 
317. 

Young  Japan,  ii.  300. 

Yozan,  Lord,  i.  345  ; ii.  78. 
Yumoto  Lake,  i.  300. 

Yumoto,  village,  i.  300  ; ii.  40. 
Yunokawa,  i)leasure  re.sort,  i.  360. 
Yunozawa,  pleasure  resort,  i. 
360. 

Zen,  religious  sect,  i.  201. 


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